Riding the Rails
by Della291
Summary: Bella Swan, a conductor for Chicago Metra Transit Group, has a jaded past. Edward is an up and coming ad exec who becomes a passenger on her train. Will he be able to overlook her past to see a future?
1. Chapter 1

**RIDING THE RAILS**

Summary: Bella Swan, a conductor for Chicago Metra Transit Group, has a jaded past. Edward is an up and coming ad exec who becomes a passenger on her train. Will he be able to overlook her past to see a future?

**SM owns Twilight and characters – I'm only taking them for a ride. **

**A line that can only be used once: Be gentle with me, this is my first time. **

**Chapter 1: All Aboard**

_5:__30__am_

_Another ten minutes before we depart. Someone needs to remind me why I switched to the early schedule. Oh__,__ that__'__s right! So I can have my afternoons free to do errands and run in the sun! _

Bella stopped to remember one particular run about two and a half months ago.

_She was coming up to the incline of the trail she frequently __ran __and glanced toward the top of the hill, almost coming to a dead stop. Just cresting the peak ahead of her was the most incredible sight: broad shoulders, strong, lean back, and a mess of wet, dark hair with hints of bronze running through it. __Bella__ increased her pace to get to the top, in __the__hopes of seeing more of this fine sight, but when she reached the top of the hill, he was gone. DAMN! _

"Swan! Swan!" Bella was snapped out of her daydream by her supervisor's voice carrying over to her from the next set of cars. "You about clear?"

She smiled as she looked out over the platform. "Yeah, Billy. Hold up a sec. Harry's almost to the doors."

Suddenly a strange sensation came over her – something she had never experienced before. An "awareness" was the only way she could describe it. She turned to the parking lot and spotted a Volvo with two occupants inside. The passenger door opened and a long lean leg stepped down to the pavement, followed by another encased in a walking brace. As she continued to gaze at the person emerging from the car, she caught a glimpse of unruly dark bronze hair.

"Swan, time to go!" Billy yelled again.

"Okay, Billy, hold on," Bella replied before yelling to one of her favorite regular passengers. "Hustle, Harry, we have got to go!" Harry was a nice old guy and never seemed be in a hurry to go anywhere. He usually rode the train between two stops – Elburn to Geneva – to fish in the Fox River. Bella had never seen anyone, other than her dad, that liked to fish so much.

The passenger of the Volvo heard her and tried to make a run for it. She knew he would never make it, especially in that brace, so she yelled out to him, "There's another train in thirty minutes. We have to depart." He glanced down at his watch and then glared at the train, as if it had offended him by leaving on time. As the doors to the vestibule began to close, Bella looked out at him, smiling a half smile and shrugging her shoulders in apology, but . she was surprised to see the most intense glare, almost strong enough to feel, coming from the greenest eyes she had ever seen before.

The next morning, the Volvo was there in the lot with both occupants again. As it got closer to departure time, both the passenger and the driver got out. Bella noticed that the green eyed God was driving today. His companion, a short pixie woman with dark hair, walked around to the driver's side. She stood on tip toe as he bent down to her level to exchange a hug and a kiss goodbye.

"Swan!" came the familiar bellow of her supervisor.

"Yeah, Billy, I know! Hustle, Harry! We've got to go!"

At this announcement, the man from the Volvo, who was almost to the platform, worked on increasing his speed while cursing the brace under his breath. Bella noticed this and yelled out to Billy a couple of cars down. Once she had his attention, she pointed toward the man and told Billy, "Hold up a few. He missed yesterday." The passenger glanced her way and waved his thanks before boarding the train by Billy's car.

The following week, she spotted "Mr. Volvo" boarding the train a few times –always in the same car. Creature of habit, she figured. However, there was no sign of him after that, and by the following Thursday she'd resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't be seeing the bronze haired, green-eyed God again. _Oh well, enough daydreaming about an elusive stranger. _At 1:00pm, her shift was over and she was excited to get home to work on her plans for the next day, glad that she had been able to coordinate with Billy to take the whole day off.

∞∞∞ EPOV ∞∞∞

At 7:30pm that same Thursday, the bronze haired man finally pulled up to his two story colonial style house, cursing. "Fucking traffic! Two and a half God damn hours in fucking traffic to travel fifty-two miles! Fuck!" He walked into his house, and his doting cousin was there to greet him with a Corona and a shot of Patrón.

"Welcome home Edward! I had a feeling you would have had a long day, so I figured you'd need this," she said as she handed him the drinks and took his briefcase.

"Ah, Alice, you always seem to know what I need before I do. You're the best, and I don't care what anyone else says!"

Alice answered his compliment with a resounding "screw off" but knew that he was just joking. "Rough day, Edward?" she asked, and he looked at her and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, the driving is really starting to get tedious. I used to not mind it, but lately it's…well, it's too much. It took me two and a half hours to get home. At least the train used to get me home earlier."

"Well, it _is _better for the environment, and you do need to remember that winter will be coming soon, so you should just go ahead and start taking it, even if you have healed from your sprain . . ." Alice droned on.

"Alice! Jeez, you sound like a commercial for Metra! I get it, but since I'm off work tomorrow, I don't need to worry about it until Monday. The only pain in the ass part is having to run for the bus that I need to take to get to work–"

"Oh," Alice interrupted, "before I forget, the doctor called. He wouldn't say much to me, except that the answer to your question is yes."

"Perfect! I wanted to make sure that I could start running, lightly anyway," he answered.

"That's great. I think you should go tomorrow… Yes, after we get home in the afternoon. It's supposed to be nice out, a little cooler in the afternoon than it will be in the morning, so you won't get too over heated."

Edward nodded his head in approval. He'd never won an argument with her before, so there was no need to start now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Peeking out from under the covers. Is anyone still here? I hope that everyone enjoyed the first chapter. I came up with this story while I was headed into downtown Chicago. One of the conductors was kinda cute! **

**Thanks much to my two Beta's Shiloh Wallace and Jasper's Destiny. They really cleaned up my mess. **

**And special thanks to Caz for pre-reading and giving me suggestions when I get a stuck.**

**Riding The Rails**

**SM owns Twilight and Characters. I'm just taking them for a ride.**

Song references:

_Elegantly Wasted_ by INXS

_All Summer Long_ by Kid Rock

_So Hott_ by Kid Rock

#**Chapter 2**

**Special Day**

Bella set off to run errands in preparation of Emmett's birthday celebration. Em, as she preferred to call him, was her big brother. Actually, _big_ was an accurate description of him, since he was 6'2" and wide, like a football player. He had brown hair, just like her, and had blue eyes, where hers were chocolate brown, like their father Charlie's. Their dad was always joking that Emmett was the milk man's kid.

Em was turning thirty today, so Bella wanted to make the celebration special. The plan was to have for a nice dinner together at home with Em's girlfriend, Rosalie, and her brother, Jasper—both of whom had become quite special to Bella. As much as Em and Rose might have enjoyed Jasper and Bella hooking up in a serious way, there was no interest between the two in pursuing anything long-term together. Not that they didn't have fun together. Occasionally, there were times when they would find themselves in bed together but without the romance—just a need to enjoy each other.

Bella was positive that Em would love the lasagna she'd made for dinner. She had never heard him complain about food, except that there wasn't enough. She completed her other plans for their evening out, sure that this whole thing would be an adventure that Em would remember for a long time.

After she'd assembled the lasagna and wrapped his presents, she realized she had time for a quick run. Quickly changing into her running clothes, she grabbed her cell phone, sunglasses, and iPod, and then threw her hair up into a long ponytail. She was out the door in less than ten minutes, headed for the neighborhood track.

After a three mile run, she decided to walk the last mile to cool down. As she walked with her head down, thinking about the evening to come, she subconsciously adjusted her cell phone on her hip. Engrossed in her thoughts, she didn't notice the approaching runner until a strange sense of awareness—an awareness she'd felt once before—alerted her to the presence. She looked up and was met with deep green eyes and a mop of unruly dark bronze hair. Her breath caught in her throat and she stilled, nodding at the runner as he passed by. As she came to the end of her walk, her phone rang and she headed over to one of the benches nearby, all thoughts of the bronze haired god partially forgotten.

"Hey, handsome, happy birthday! Are you ready for your big night tonight? You know, you _are _turning three decades old!" she said, answering the phone. She made sure that everything was still on schedule for Emmett's celebration and fielded a few questions from him in regards to exactly what they'd be doing.

"You better hustle—" she said before being interrupted by someone passing by.

"Excuse me. Are you talking to me?" She looked up at the sound of the voice, but the sun was behind the person in front of her and she was momentarily blinded. She shook her head no, gesturing to the cell phone in her hand and the Bluetooth in her ear, with a smile.

"Oh, sorry," she heard him say as she continued talking to her brother.

After a few more minutes, she finished up her phone call and then stood and stretched before turning to put her foot on the bench to re-tie her shoelace. When she straightened, she looked up and saw a marble chest, free of a shirt, glistening with sweat. Her eyes followed the line of his sternum up to his face and realized it was the jogger she had passed earlier. She sucked in a large breath, and he cocked an eyebrow at her, obviously catching her ogling him. Bella smirked, shrugged her shoulders, and then casually sauntered away.

EPOV

"Fine, Alice, I'm leaving already. Jeez! It's my house—why are you pushing me out?" Edward complained.

"I just want you to get back into your exercise routine, Edward. I have a feeling that if you don't go today, you're going to have a setback," she answered.

"Fine, fine, fine," he finally agreed. After all, he really had missed jogging.

As he came up on his third mile, he saw a woman walking toward him. He was struck by a feeling of familiarity but knew that he'd never seen this person on this track before. He noticed the way she adjusted the phone holder on her hip and had a moment of déjà vu. As she looked up at him, all he could see was a reflection of himself in her sunglasses. He nodded as he passed by and continued on.

Finishing his fourth mile, he slowly jogged over to where a couple of guys were playing ball. When he approached them, he saw the same woman from earlier sitting on one of the nearby benches. "You better hustle, handsome," she said. Thinking that she was talking to him, he stopped.

"Excuse me. Are you talking to me?" Seeing by her gesture that she was on the phone, he added, "Oh, sorry."

Just then, one of the guys playing ball yelled out to him. "Hey, Masen, want to play a pick-up game?"

After a few minutes of playing ball, he stopped and stripped out of his wife beater. As he turned to the bench to put his shirt down, he saw the woman stand and arch her back while stretching. The movement pushed her breasts forward, and the sight caused Edward's imagination to go into overdrive. His cock swelled in the confines of his running shorts as he continued to watch her. He was assaulted with yet another wave of lust as she turned, put a foot on the bench, and bent to tie her shoelace. He was now afforded a more than pleasing view of her ample cleavage, which was glistening with sweat from her earlier run. At that moment, she looked up and slowly raked her eyes up his bare torso to meet his own lust-filled stare. A small sound, almost like a moan, came from her throat. He cocked an eyebrow at her and was surprised when she smirked, shrugged her shoulders, and walked away—again leaving him with a feeling of déjà vu.

"Hey, Masen, you okay?" he heard Sam ask.

"Oh, man, he's under the spell," Paul chimed in. Edward turned to look at his friends.

"What the fuck are you talking about? What _spell_?"

"Seriously," Paul replied. "Bella's hooked you in. I've never seen it happen that fast."

"You guys are full of shit," Edward snapped. "I don't even know her."

"Oh, yeah? Then why are you drooling and fisting that shirt of yours?" Paul asked. Edward turned angrily toward him, and Paul threw his hands up in the air in surrender. "Okay, man, sorry! Hey, are you still joining us tonight?"

Edward remembered that they'd invited him out for drinks that night. "What's that place called again?"

"The Depot. It's a club in town near the station, about a block away," Sam said as he walked over.

Edward thought for a moment. "I've never seen it."

Paul sighed and rolled his eyes. "Of course you've seen it—just not when it's open. Man, you go to work at the butt crack of dawn. What time do you get home? Three o'clock?"

"No. I get home at five thirty most days. So why haven't I noticed this place?"

"Because it opens at seven, and you've probably never gone back by the station after you get home," Sam answered.

"Okay, I'll come. Mind if I bring someone along?"

"As long as they don't cramp our style," Paul replied. "Don't want to be the fifth wheel, huh?"

Edward shook his head. "It's my cousin, you fuckwad. She's staying with me until she finds a place to live. She's moving here from upstate."

"Cousin, huh?" Paul piped up. "Is she pretty? Single? Hot?" Edward glared at him in response.

"Stay away from her. I know how you are!" he warned.

"Okay, okay, relax man! Meet us there at seven thirty. The place doesn't start going until around eight, but we want to get a good table for the _show_," Paul said.

"Show?" Edward exclaimed. "Is this a strip club? I can't take Alice there."

"Nah, man," Sam answered. "Not a strip club. The place has a dance floor, and there's some nice…um, women there." Paul snickered in the background. "Anyway, meet us at seven thirty. I'm sure you're going to like it." Paul and Sam exchanged a knowing look.

Edward glanced between the two, wondering about the looks on their faces. "Fine, we'll be there."

-x-

At seven thirty, Edward and an overly excited Alice pulled up to the address he had been given for the club. It was an old converted train car repair depot.

As they entered the club, they noticed a definite "train" theme. The outer edges of the club were done up in such a way to give the appearance of a Club Car, for those who wanted to sit back, relax, and dine.

The walls were decorated with railroad crossing signs and signal lights.

The club was filled with high tables and stools surrounding a dance floor.

"Really, Edward, I wish you would have worn the shirt I laid out for you," Alice admonished him as they approached the club.

"Alice, I'm thirty years old. I don't need you to pick out my clothes for me. Besides, what's wrong with what I have on?" Edward was dressed in black fitted button flies and a forest green, long sleeve t shirt under a dark brown leather jacket. He thought he looked quite good in the outfit.

"Nothing, just…" she started with a sigh. He chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

"I'll buy you a new Barbie that you can dress up, okay?" With that came a resounding smack to his chest. "Ow, shit! For a little pixie, you sure can hit. Come on, let's find

Sam and Paul."

Edward and Alice found Sam and Paul at a tall four-top table next to the dance floor. As Edward made the introductions, the waitress came over to take their drink orders. Alice ordered a margarita—made "her" way, of course—and Edward ordered a Corona and a shot of Patrón Silver. _No training wheels for me._ They all settled in, talking and getting to know each other more.

BPOV

At six thirty, Bella was practically ready to jump out of her skin. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper were supposed to be here by now. The limo was arriving at eight, which gave them a little over an hour to eat and open presents. She knew that wouldn't be enough time for Emmett—he could eat for hours. Right then, the bell rang and the door opened.

"Yo, sis, why the hell isn't dinner ready?"

"Fuck you, Emmett! You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago."

"Yeah, I know," he replied. "But, um, Rose had to give me my birthday present. Never want to pass that up."

"Seriously? That is so gross. No more, okay?"

"Dude," Jasper piped in. "That's my sister you're talking about!"

"Yeah, whatever," Emmett casually dismissed their protests. All of a sudden, there was a resounding slapping noise.

"Emmett! Shut up, you big clod! You are so uncouth…." Rosalie chastised as she smacked him again soundly across the back of his head.

"Hey, Sweet Lips, I can't help it if you're my all. I tell it like it is."

At that comment, both Jasper and Bella moaned and made gagging noises.

"Okay, let's eat before I lose my appetite. We only have an hour before we have to leave. No more!" Bella ordered.

"Really, sis, where are we going, huh? What are we doing?"

"I'm not telling, so shut up and eat. Now! You're going to need it."

-x-

At around eight fifteen, Bella and her group walked into The Depot and headed over to their reserved table. Just as they were getting seated, Eric the DJ's voice came through the speakers with a greeting.

"Hells Bells! It's Bella and crew."

EPOV

Edward turned at the mention of her name and saw her and three other people taking a seat nearby. He immediately noticed that she was wearing a very short and tight sapphire blue dress. The neckline was just low enough to show the top swells of her breasts. That dress, coupled with the four-inch black heels she was wearing, caused a stirring in his crotch. He noticed Bella's group had the appearance of a double date. _Hmph, _he thought to himself, _that must be the guy she was on the phone with_. He wasn't entirely sure _why_ that bothered him, but it did. He also noted that the other guy was as huge as a fucking bear. He turned back to his friends when he heard a chuckling, only to be met by three sets of eyes staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Seriously," Sam said, "he's not a bear."

_Oh fuck, did I say that out loud?_ he thought. He looked over at Alice, who was smirking at him. _Shit._

He took a drink from his beer and signaled the waitress for another round of drinks and shots. As she walked over, he noticed that her tray contained double what he'd ordered and then saw her stop by Bella's table to deliver some of the drinks there before bringing the rest over to his table. _Hmmm, she's a Corona and Patrón drinker, too… Good to know,_ he thought to himself. _Wait, what do I mean, 'Good to know'? Why the fuck is that good_?

He turned back to the conversation with his friends and Alice, just as he heard his cousin make a comment about renting a place.

"Wait, Alice… What do you mean by rent a place to live? You're staying with me." She looked at him and shook her head. "What?" he asked. "You don't like living at my house?"

"Edward, staying with you is fine while I find a place of my own. But, seriously, how do you expect me to attract a man if they see me living with you?"

"What the fuck? We're cousins, Ali."

"True, but not everyone knows that," she responded.

"Okay, fine. Where is this place? Hopefully not on the North Side, or else I'll never see you!" he whined.

"No, it's not on the North Side. It's actually here in Elburn. There's a woman who owns a duplex and has the other side of it for rent. I'm meeting with her next week to check into it. It's not far from us now," she answered.

"Do you know anything about this woman? She's not some old lady with a million cats, is she— worse yet, dogs? You know I'm allergic to animal fur. I'd never be able to visit you."

"No, Edward, she's not old, and there are no cats or dogs that I know of. The agent I'm working with said she's about twenty-five. And, no, before you ask, I don't know her name yet. The agent won't give me that information until I meet with her." Alice knew he was going to want to know everything about this prospective landlord of hers. He'd always been very protective of her.

After a few minutes, Alice asked Edward if he wanted to switch seats with her. He gave her a confused look. "Why do you ask that?"

"Well," she replied, "you're beginning to look like some horror movie character with your head turned around the way it's been. Plus, I figure you can just sit _here_ and see her more clearly."

"Ha, ha…" he replied, but then after a moment added, "Sure." He got up and practically lifted her out of her chair before placing her in the one he'd just vacated.

From this new vantage point, he was able to observe Bella and her companions more discreetly. He noted quite a few times the strong feeling of déjà vu he got while watching her. It still puzzled him, as he'd always considered himself to have a great memory.

He couldn't help but watch with fascination as she licked salt away from the base of her thumb and the way her mouth looked when she put the neck of the bottle to her lips for a drink. He was surprised when he registered a low moan and realized that it was coming from him. He chanced a side glance at Alice, who was regarding him with a determined look. "What?" he asked. She said nothing—just shook her head and turned back to answer a question Sam had asked.

"Uh oh," he heard Paul say.

Paul nodded over at Bella's table as a blonde guy walked up holding two bottles of beer.

"Shit! The dumb ass never learns, does he?" Sam remarked. Curious about their comments, Edward shot Sam a questioning glance. "That's Mike Newton, and every week he tries to buy Bella a drink. She's never accepted one, though, and he is always summarily dismissed. This has been going on for the last couple of years."

"She won't take the beer?" Edward asked. "Why?"

Paul and Sam both said that they hadn't heard why, but that she was adamant about it.

Edward watched as Bella told the blonde, Mike, thanks but no thanks, but the idiot went ahead and set the beer down in front of her anyway. She shook her head, and just as the waitress approached with another round of drinks for their table, she took the bottle he brought her and put it on the tray for the waitress to take away. Mike made some comment and walked away with a scowl on his face.

Paul made a remark that it was akin to watching re-runs on T.V. "One of these days, he'll learn," he said.

Sam just laughed. "Don't fucking count on it!"

About fifteen minutes later, the lights went out and a spotlight illuminated Bella's table. The DJ shut off the music and asked everyone to turn their attention to the table as a very buxom, scantily clad, red head walked out of the kitchen, pushing a cart with what looked like a huge cake on it. After she reached the table, she lit the candles and placed the cart in front of the huge guy.

"Ladies and gents," Eric said over the mic, "please help us in wishing a happy thirtieth birthday to Big Emmett."

"Oh, shit!" Sam said. "She didn't, did she?"

"Fuck, yeah, she did. She got him back!" Paul replied. Edward turned to them with a confused look on his face. "Last year, when Bella turned twenty-five, Emmett hired a male stripper to deliver roses to her here. At first, she thought it was a standard delivery, and she was going to refuse them, since she hates having her birthday celebrated, but then the guy ripped his top off. Boy, you should have seen the…um, action here that night."

"Yeah," Sam said, "she was definitely showing it that night, wasn't she?"

Edward glanced over at Bella, then looked back with a glare at his friends for their comments. Why? He had no idea. What she does—or _did_—was of no consequence to him.

When he looked back over to her table, he saw the redhead standing in front of Emmett, singing happy birthday Marilyn Monroe-style. She started getting closer to him, seductively touching his legs, and then made her way to his forearms, up to his biceps, and then to his shoulders.

Edward turned to Sam. "Um, is that blonde woman he's with just going to sit there and do nothing?" _What kind of women are they? _he wondered.

"Nah, she's fine. Rose knows Emmett won't do anything. She'd have his balls if he even so much as thought about it," Sam answered.

The music changed to a slow sensual strip-type song, and the redhead began grinding into Emmett, going down to the floor and back up again. She took off the jacket she was wearing and put it on the table next to her. Then, just as she was about to pull her pants down, Eric came over the mic, reminding her where she was. After that announcement, a loud groan went through the room—by the guys, of course. The ladies applauded appreciatively in response. Edward watched Bella's reaction to the stripper—she didn't seem the least bit phased by her actions. It was almost like she was used to the situation; making him wonder exactly what type of woman she was.

He watched as Bella started cutting and plating pieces of birthday cake. "I want some of that cake," he said out loud.

Alice looked over at him and reminded him that he doesn't even like cake.

"I do now," he replied.

He watched as the blonde guy took a forkful of cake and tried to feed it to Bella, but she turned her head away at the last minute and ended up with frosting on the side of her mouth. He swallowed hard, watching her little pink tongue peek out and slowly lick it away, which elicited a low moan from deep within his chest. He jumped as he felt a cold, wet sensation on his leg and looked down at his lap and then over to his cousin, who had a sheepish look on her face.

"Seriously, Al? You spilled your drink on me!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry, Edward. It was only a little bit. Go into the bathroom and wash it off. That way you won't be _sticky_." He glared looked over at her and made his way to the men's room.

When he returned a few minutes later, there was a wedge of cake at each place on their table.

"Uh, where did this come from?" he asked.

"Oh, it was dropped off while you were in the bathroom," Alice replied. "Don't' worry, Edward, you'll meet her soon." He shook his head. "Besides, she wants to meet you." He quickly turned his head toward her.

"How do you know that? Did she say something?" he asked. _J__eez, I sound like a fucking fifteen year old virgin__._

"No," Alice replied. "But when the other woman brought over the cake, she only brought three slices, as there were only three of us sitting here, and Bella sent her back with another one. So, she _had_ to have noticed you."

He took a bite of the cake and rolled his eyes back with a groan of satisfaction.

"Good, isn't it?" Alice asked.

"It's fantastic. Esme would _love _to know what bakery this came from."

"It didn't come from a bakery, Edward. Bella made it. The woman who brought it over told me when I asked where the cake came from."

After a few minutes, Eric started playing more upbeat music for dancing. Edward watched Bella swaying in her seat, as if she were dancing sitting down. The blonde asshole—Mike—approached again and asked her to dance, and once again he was rejected. Edward looked over to Sam. "No dancing?" he asked.

Sam laughed. "Only with certain people," he replied.

"Yeah, certain people…like Jazz," Paul said.

"Oh, her boyfriend?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, more like fuck buddy," Sam replied. "Bella is _real _exclusive. We've never really seen her with anyone other than Jazz."

"Of course," Paul offered, "we don't know for sure that they are fuck buddies, only that every time they're together, Bella is really calm for the next few days."

_Elegantly Wasted_ by INXS piped through the speakers as Bella and Jasper made their way onto the dance floor. Edward grabbed Alice's hand and took her out on the floor.

"Seriously, Edward!" she exclaimed.

"Shut up and dance, Ali!" He wanted to get closer to Bella. Unfortunately, that ended up not being the case. So, after the song ended, he and Alice returned to their seats.

As Edward continued to watch, he noticed that the dance floor pretty much cleared, with the exception of Bella and Jasper, who continued to dance "swing style" as Kid Rock's _All Summer Long_ came through the speakers. Edward watched for a few moments and noticed that they danced together as if with years of experience. His eyes were drawn to her long legs and the way her short skirt hugged her ass—and the fact that she was able to move in four-inch heels so flawlessly.

About that time, the song transitioned into another Kid Rock song.

_Oh, fuck me…_ he thought as_ So Hott_ started blaring out of the speakers. Bella and Jasper began circling one another to the beat at the beginning of the song like they were stalking each other like predators. They then started dancing fluidly together. When the one verse that Edward had been waiting for to see their interaction came on, Bella's back was pressed up against Jasper's chest. His hands slunk down her sides to her hips, and she closed her eyes, raised her arms, and clasped her hands behind his head just as the verse, "_I want to fuck you like I'm never gonna see you again!"_ came on.

Edward continued to watch Jasper's hands roam up and down her sides, and he almost growled. The third time that verse came on, Bella was staring directly into Edward's eyes, and he felt like she was looking straight into his soul. He found himself thinking, _Mine!_ He hoped that he hadn't actually said it out loud. After the song was over, he watched Bella and Jasper exit the dance floor and head back to their table, and he noted that she had changed seats and was now facing him.

They continued to watch each other across the room for a few minutes before Edward felt the need to go into the restroom for an…_adjustment_. When he returned, he saw that everyone at Bella's table had left. He also noted that Sam and Paul looked like they were ready to leave as well.

"Where'd everyone go?" he asked.

"Dude, what the fuck are we—chopped liver?," Paul asked,. "We're still here. _We_ didn't go anywhere!"

"Sorry, it just seems like a lot of people left. I thought the place was closing."

"Yeah," Sam said, "it's late, and Paul and I have an early start tomorrow, so we're heading out. We'll have to do this again sometime."

"Yeah," Edward answered. "Maybe next weekend. I like it here. It's interesting."

After Paul and Sam left, Alice turned to Edward. "Seriously, Edward? You come back out and act like you missed the grand finale of a show. _Where'd everyone go?"_ she mimicked.

"Well, where _did_ they go?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Bella and her friends stopped by to say good night to Sam and Paul, and they said something about heading to another town close by for more clubbing. It's late. We should probably head home as well.", Edward said with apparent disappointment in his voice. "Don't worry Edward," Alice consoled him, "I'm sure you'll run into her again."


	3. Chapter 3

**Once again, hoping that everyone enjoys the ride. **

**Thanks to Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny for keeping my writing in line. **

**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight and Characters. I'm only taking them for a ride. **

RIDING THE RAILS

Chapter 3 - Revelation

"Bella, are you really going to sit there and tell me that you didn't notice that guy eye-fucking you all night?" Rosalie looked Bella straight in the eye as she questioned her.

"What guy?" Bella replied, looking around the bar that the four of them were in after they left The Depot. .

"_What guy_? The bronze haired Adonis at _The Depot_, that's who!" Rosalie said in a frustrated tone.

"Gee, honey, thanks for the ego-deflation there."

"Sorry, sweetie," Rosalie flashed Emmett a winning smile before placing a quick kiss on his lips. "You're _my_ Adonis, and you know that. But I was really waiting for that guy to go all caveman on Bella. Didn't you see the way he was looking at her?" Emmett just shook his head. "Well, _I_ saw it!" Rosalie declared.

"You know, Rose," Jasper said, catching her comment upon returning from the bar, "I saw some guy watching Bella all night as well. He was tall and had reddish brown hair. There were a couple times while I was dancing with Bella when I thought he was going to come onto the dance floor and rip my arms off. He was acting all possessive."

"That's him," Rosalie said excitedly. "I _swear_ I saw him mouth the word _mine _when you were dancing, Bella. Does this guy have any kind of claim on you? Maybe from _before_?"

Bella looked between her friends and her brother, unsure how to take or answer that question. Her _past_ had never really been discussed or shared in depth with them, not even with Emmett. It wasn't something she was terribly proud of. She'd much rather forget about it, but it was her history. However, the scars that she carried, both inside and out, wouldn't let her forget so easily. _Damaged goods_ was how she'd considered herself these past years. She cringed reflexively and responded to the question. "Can we just drop it? It's Emmett's birthday and I want to have fun!"

"Sure," Rosalie answered, "but we're not totally dropping this. I _know_ you noticed him, otherwise you wouldn't have sent me back over there with that extra piece of cake."

"Well, Rosalie, _you_ only took over three pieces," Bella retorted.

"That's because there were only _three _people sitting there," Rosalie countered. "Miraculous how _you _saw a fourth person when there were only three present…"

Bella opened her mouth to protest but then snapped it shut. "Fine," she mumbled. "I might have noticed him."

"Spill, tramp! Who is he? Do you know his name?" Rosalie demanded. Emmett and Jasper just sat there and watched the exchange as if they were at a tennis match, their heads switching back and forth between the two women.

"No, I don't," Bella answered. "Not personally. I was at the park today and heard Sam call out to him earlier today."

"What do you mean _earlier_ today?" Emmett and Rosalie asked simultaneously. Rosalie glanced over at Bella, who had a concentrated look on her face. "Has this guy been following you?"

"What?" Bella snapped incredulously. "No, nothing like that." She recounted their brief encounter in the park earlier before suddenly exclaiming in realization, "Oh, shit! It's Him! He's the _Volvo_!" Three sets of eyes were suddenly watching her warily.

"The _Volvo_?" Rosalie asked, bewildered. "Bella, you're making no sense. What are you talking about?"

Bella proceeded to tell them about the past few weeks—about how he had arrived at the train station with his "girlfriend". Rosalie burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Bella sneered.

"That's not his girlfriend, stupid," Rosalie said, still laughing. "She's his _cousin_!"

"How do you know that?" Bella asked. Rosalie explained that when she had taken the additional piece of cake over, she spoke with Alice briefly, mentioning how she had forgotten her boyfriend's piece of cake. Alice had emphatically informed her that "the Adonis" was her cousin.

The remainder of the evening, Bella enjoyed visiting with her friends and brother. Occasionally, her thoughts turned to the bronzed haired god. _Even though the pixie isn't his girlfriend, it doesn't mean that he hasn't got one. _Finally, but with some difficulty, she pushed the thoughts of Mr. Volvo out of her mind and focused on having fun.

RtR

The next morning, Bella was busy cleaning the house and getting ready for an appointment she had on Monday. As she completed the unloved chore of dusting, she gazed out the patio doors and spotted the pool that had been installed last year, which she'd not yet had a chance to use_. I think it's time to get the pool open,_ she decided. Bella grabbed the phone and dialed Jasper. "Hey, Jazz. How are you doing, hon?" she said sweetly when he answered.

"I'm fucking hung over. Why are you up this early and so chipper?" he replied.

"Um, well, I was hoping that you might _love_ to come by tomorrow and help me open the pool so it can be ready for next weekend."

"What's so important about next weekend?" Jasper asked.

"My vacation starts," Bella replied excitedly, practically jumping up and down. She hadn't had more than two days off at a time since… Realizing _exactly _when that was and why she now had the time off, she stopped her excited celebration abruptly, the painful memories immediately sobering her.

"Hey Bells, no problem, sweetie. I'm just giving you shit." When Bella hadn't replied after a few moments, Jasper asked, "Hey, you still there, Bells?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry," she replied. "Mind got sidetracked."

Jasper could hear the difference in Bella's tone and quickly changed the subject. "So, you want to open the pool? What time do I need to be over there?"

*** Sunday***

A few minutes before three, when Jasper was scheduled to arrive, Bella's phone rang. Without glancing at the caller ID, she answered. "So help me, Jazz, if you're bailing on me—" she began.

"Uh, hello? Bella?" the caller said.

"Oh, sorry, Billy. I thought it was someone else," Bella replied.

"No problem," he assured her with a chuckle. "I thought I'd dialed the wrong number."

"So, did you need something, Billy?" Bella asked cautiously, since it was unusual for Billy to be calling her at home.

"Well, yeah. You remember Rachel, right?"

Bella thought about the name and remembered that it was one of _his_ sisters. "Yeah, I do, but what does that have to do with me?" She hated being rude, but any time _he_ was brought up, directly or indirectly, she bristled.

"Well," Billy continued, "she's moving to this area from St. Louis and…um, Jacob wants to go down and help her pack up and move."

Bella pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it like it had all of the answers to this conversation written on the screen. "Okay," she replied cautiously when she put the phone back to her ear. "But I still don't know what that has to do with me."

Bella heard him take a deep breath and prepared herself for his reply. "Well, I need someone to cover his shift this week, and I was hoping that you would be willing to do it."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath herself before replying, reminding herself that this was her supervisor and that it wasn't fair to take her anger out on him for something someone else had done.

"Billy, I just got transferred _off _of that shift a month ago to get away from him. Get someone else. I can't do it."

"Bella, you know we're short staffed right now. Can't you please do this for me, at least? He won't even be there. You won't have to see him at all. Plus," Billy added quickly, "You'll be getting double salary."

"Double pay?" she asked. "Why? I never got that pay when I was on that shift before."

"Well," Billy hesitated before dropping his bombshell, "I still need you to cover your shift as well."

"_What?"_ She couldn't help but raise her voice at that. "Seriously, Billy! And just when am I supposed to have a life?" She felt herself getting angrier the longer she was on the phone, and she had just about decided to quit her job altogether when Billy spoke again. _There are still other things out there I can do, right? I'm not that old.._

"Bella, honey, I'm sorry things didn't work out between the two of you, and I really don't want to know why, but I really need your help with this. I didn't want to have to ask you, but Rachel needs him to be there and I can't do it. Can't you please consider it? I'll owe you big time."

Taking another deep breath, she agreed—but with one stipulation: that she got Friday night off so she could start her vacation early. Billy agreed, saying that he'd even work the Friday night shift himself before thanking her again and ending the call.

_Well, fuck! There goes my free time for this week. Oh, Hell! _Bella suddenly remembered her afternoon appointment on Monday. Picking up the phone again, she dialed Mrs. Cope.

"Cope Realty," the pleasant voice of the owner answered.

"Hi, Mrs. Cope, it's Bella Swan calling."

"Oh, hello dear. How are you? Are you ready for your appointment tomorrow?" Mrs. Cope asked.

"Well, that's what I'm calling about, actually. I have to work double shifts for the rest of the week, and I was hoping that you could take care of the interview process for me. You know what I'm looking for, and the candidate may even be a little more relaxed if it wasn't me that they were talking to."

"Sure, dear, I'll handle it for you. I've already run the background check on the young lady. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow night. You must make sure you don't wear yourself out, okay?"

A few minutes later, Jasper arrived to help, as promised. They got the pool ready and then headed out to look at deck furniture. At the local outdoor furniture store, Bella was trying to decide between a black wrought iron set, which consisted of a six foot rectangular table, six chairs, and two side tables or a jade green eight foot table made out of crafted aluminum with eight chairs, two ottomans, and two side tables. As Bella was making her final decision, Jasper looked over and asked her a question that he immediately regretted.

"Bella, I know it's none of my business, but can you afford this set? I mean, it _is_ twenty-five hundred dollars."

"You're right, Jasper, it _is_ none of your fucking business, but since I love you, I'll forgive that," she snapped at him. Jasper gaped at her, thoroughly surprised by her tone and the reprimand. Suddenly realizing what she'd just said, she looked over to him, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Jazz, you didn't deserve that. I…I just have a hard time with people telling me when I can spend my money, and what I can spend my money on. Forgive me?"

"It's all right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. We'll just drop it, okay?" he said in a subdued tone.

_God, I feel like such an ass__!_ Bella thought to herself. _He's my best friend and I snapped at him because of something that fucking asshole ingrained__ in me_. She paid for the furniture, then made arrangements to have it delivered and set up the following Friday, since she'd be home that afternoon. Happy with her purchase and eager to make things better with Jazz, they headed back to Bella's house for dinner and a movie.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to Jasper's Destiny and Shiloh again for keeping me verbally correct! **

**RIDING THE RAILS**

Chapter 4: Property

APOV

The next morning at ten, Alice sat in front of a huge duplex. She had received a phone call yesterday evening from Mrs. Cope, the realtor she was working with, advising her of the time change for their appointment. While she waited for Mrs. Cope, she took the time to look at the outside of the property. It was situated in the middle of the block, and the garages served as the connecting point, with the living quarters on each end. _Perfect, _she thought, _I won't have to worry about disturbing my landlord with my music._ Alice had a tendency to play some rather loud music while working on the various couture designs she envisioned.

After taking in the structure of the building for a few minutes, Alice noticed a nondescript car pulling up next to her. She climbed out of her car to meet the driver, figuring this was the person she had the appointment with.

"Well, hello, dear, you must be Alice Cullen. I'm Mrs. Cope," the woman introduced herself. "Ms. Swan, the owner, couldn't be here today. She had to work a double shift, but I'll be happy to show you around and answer any questions about the property and such. Shall we go in?"

Alice nodded and followed Mrs. Cope into the front entrance. She stopped and gazed around in awe, her jaw dropping at the sight before her.

"Wow! This place is _huge_ on the inside!" she exclaimed, staring at the large open plan living room that led to the kitchen.

As she stepped further in, she saw a separate dining room with a bay window that overlooked a rose garden. Entering the kitchen, she noted that it appeared professionally designed but was missing appliances.

"Am I to provide my own appliances?" she asked Mrs. Cope. That wasn't something she'd been planning on when factoring in the money she would need to spend for the move.

"Oh, no, dear, the appliances should be here next week," Mrs. Cope assured her. A rather relieved Alice continued touring the house to review all of the amenities.

When Alice entered the master bedroom, she was amazed once again at the size of the room. Her eyes zeroed in on the huge walk-in closet with built in drawers, and she giggled like an excited schoolgirl. _Oh. My. God! I've died and gone to heaven, _she thought to herself. She passed through to the en suite and was rendered speechless—a rarity for her. At this point, she'd already made up her mind that this place was going to be hers, but she continued on, eager to check out everything the house had to offer.

Following Mrs. Cope through to another area, she took a moment to look into the backyard. It was huge, with a built in pool and deck area. She noticed that the pool was situated between the two properties, which she hoped meant that it was available for her use as well. She asked Mrs. Cope about it and was told that the pool had just been installed last year and that no one had been in the unit since then, so she would have to ask Ms. Swan about it.

"Why hasn't anyone lived here recently? Is there something wrong with the place or Ms. Swan?" Alice asked.

"No, not at all. Ms. Swan just bought the place last year and had it remodeled. She lived in this unit while the other was being worked on, then had the work done on this one afterwards. They're duplicates of each other, right down to the drawer pulls."

"Wow. That had to have cost a pretty penny. How much is the rent?" Alice asked, more than a little nervous to find out. Looking around at everything, she surmised it wouldn't be cheap but desperately hoped it was within her price range.

"It's eight hundred dollars per month, plus utilities," Mrs. Cope replied.

Alice shook her head in disbelief. _That can't be right, surely?_

"Excuse me, did you say eight hundred per month?"

"Well, yes, dear. Is that too much? We can look around for another property, if you'd like."

"No, no!" Alice answered quickly. "It's fine. I'll take it."

"That's lovely," Mrs. Cope said, smiling broadly. "Let's head back to the office so we can put together the lease agreement and answer any questions you may have."

Alice hopped in her car and followed Mrs. Cope to her office, where she put down the required first and last month's rent. She would have liked to have moved in that coming Saturday, as it was the first of the month, but with no certainty of when the unit would be ready for occupancy, due to the status of the appliances, she knew that wouldn't be possible. _Guess I'll have to stay at Edward's house for a little while longer_.

Suddenly Alice had an idea, and she asked Mrs. Cope if it would be all right for her to have one of those portable storage containers set in the driveway until the unit was available. That way she could at least get the rest of her belongings moved out of her place in Galena.

"Well, I'm not sure, dear. Let me call Ms. Swan and ask her. I'm sure it would be all right, but I would never like to assume. Oh, I almost forgot—I'll have to leave her a message, since she's working a double shift. She can call me back during her break and then I can let you know what she says."

Noting that it was the second time Mrs. Cope had mentioned Ms. Swan working a double, Alice asked if her new landlord was a waitress, a police officer—a profession that required strange hours. She really didn't want to have to worry about disturbing her during her time off. "Oh, no, she works for the railroad," Mrs. Cope informed her.

Alice left the office shortly after that with the key to her new home and ideas of how to get Edward to help her with the move.

Two hours later, she received a call from Mrs. Cope advising her that the unit would be available for her to move into next weekend and that she'd be more than welcome to leave the storage unit on the driveway until then.

That evening, she picked Edward up at the train station with a plan.

"Hi, there," she greeted Edward as he casually walked up to the car. "Was your day okay?"

"Just fucking awesome," he replied after giving her a quick hug.

"Well, I've got some good news!" Alice started with a slight bit of trepidation.

"And?" Edward asked when she paused, noticing her nervousness.

"I took the duplex. I really like it, and I think it will be perfect for me," she told him excitedly.

"Great! That means I'll finally get my bathroom back," Edward joked. "So, when do you move in?"

"That's the thing. I have to wait until the unit is complete. There are no appliances in place at the moment, but that should be rectified this week. So, I guess you're stuck with me until then. I'll be going up to Galena to arrange for movers to start packing up the large stuff. Do you mind if I take the car?" Alice asked.

"Well, I guess it's okay. The weather is supposed to be good this week, so I guess I can walk to the station for a couple of days. It couldn't hurt me to get some extra exercise in. Just be careful with it."

"Gee, Edward, thank you for trusting me with your baby so much," Alice said, rolling her eyes at her cousin. "I'm not going to be gone _that_ long. I should be back tomorrow night."

"Okay, okay," Edward replied, taking the keys from Alice and climbing into the driver's seat. "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't let you drive my car at all. Now get in. I'm hungry… You can make me dinner to thank me for being such a wonderful cousin who lets you borrow his car."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hope everyone's enjoying the story. I've gotten quite a few reviews and everyone's being really nice to me! **

**Once again** **Thanks much to my two Beta's Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny. **

**SM owns Twilight and characters – I'm only taking them for a ride. **

**CHAPTER 5**

**ALMOST VACATION TIME**

**Thursday 7:00pm**

Alice took the time to prepare her cousin's favorite dish, her signature lasagna, as she formulated a plan to get him to help her move that upcoming weekend. She wanted to get the small things out of her former place but knew that she would need help with them.

She left early so she would arrive at the train station in plenty of time to pick Edward up. Alice was leaning against the hood of the car when the train arrived and the passengers disembarked.

"Hey, Swan," Alice heard a masculine voice call out in a rude tone, and she turned her head toward the sound. _"_Swan!" It was a large Native American man. She turned her gaze in the direction that he was glaring and saw the object of his bellowing—another railroad employee. A _female _employee, at that. The young lady's shoulders slumped for a moment as she turned to face the large man. Alice's mind suddenly spun as she put together the pieces.

_Swan._

Railroad.

_Oh. My. God, that's my new landlord__!_

She continued to watch the interaction between the two and noticed that it did not look comfortable. As she focused on the scene before her, Edward approached.

**EPOV**

"What are you doing, cuz?" he greeted her.

Alice jumped, startled, and slapped him on the chest. "Don't do that when I'm engrossed!"

"Engrossed in what?" he asked. Alice nodded her head in the direction she had been looking. Edward followed Alice's gaze to see a female railroad employee engaged in a heated conversation with a large and brutish fellow employee. The woman quickly turned away, but the man grabbed her forearm and spun her back around to face him.

Edward dropped his briefcase and started to make a move toward them, unsure of where the urgent need to protect the woman had come from. Before Edward had a chance to advance, the woman said something to the large man and it made him visibly flinch and drop her arm. They parted ways, boarded their respective cars, and the train left. Edward turned and saw Alice staring at him.

"What_?_" he asked.

"Seriously, Edward? You looked like you were going over there to rip his head off."

"Well, sorry! I don't like to see women manhandled," he replied. He picked up his briefcase and headed towards the car with a backward glance to the departing train. "So to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"What do you mean, Edward?" Alice responded. "I've been picking you up from the station for weeks."

"Yeah, but never on time," he countered.

When they arrived back at Edward's house, he immediately became suspicious. There was a bottle of wine sitting on the table, and he could smell the mouthwatering aroma of pasta and garlic bread.

"Alice, what's up? Did you not take that rental unit after all?"

"What? No, I'm still moving. Jeez, is it that bad having me here?" she answered with a little bit of hurt in her voice.

"No, it's not bad. It's just that you're being so vague in what you want. I can usually read you better than this. I've had a shitty week and I really don't want to play games."

"Okay, Edward. Let's have some dinner and I'll give you the lowdown on everything."

Half an hour later, after they had finished their dinner, the conversation turned to the topic at hand.

"Really, Alice? You want me to spend all weekend, on no notice whatsoever, helping you pack up and move?" Edward complained, after she'd landed the small bombshell on him not a moment before.

"Edward, it will only take maybe half a day at the most. I just need you to help me pack up some small things."

"I thought you were hiring a company to move you. I don't have the time to spend all weekend out of town."

"I_ am _hiring a crew, Edward. I just need help moving the small things that were left to us by Grandma. I really thought you would be interested in helping with _those _at least. Maybe I was mistaken," Alice said sadly.

"Wow, pip-squeak, nothing like making someone feel like shit. Since you put it that way, I'll do it." He just managed to avoid another slap to his chest for that comment.

**Friday 1:00pm.**

Bella took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders_. Fuck!_ _I thought this fucking week would never end, _she thought as she started her car and pulled out of the station's parking lot. Driving home, she went over some of the plans she had for the next week. According to what Mrs. Cope had told her during their phone call on Monday, her new tenant wanted to put a portable storage unit on the driveway until she could get into the unit. _Guess I'll be making a call to the village when I get home to check on a permit._ _Plus, I need to contact the appliance store; it's been well over two weeks, and the appliances should have been installed by now_.

Thinking of everything she needed to do to finalize the rental unit, she remembered more of her conversation with the realtor.

"_Oh, Bella, she is such a nice young lady! She really loved the place and seemed so excited about moving in. I know that it will be perfect. I feel that the two of you will even become good friends."_

When Bella arrived home, she found that she had a hard time concentrating on the few tasks she had planned. Her mind wandered to thoughts of a man with bronze hair, and the fact that she hadn't seen him on the train all week. In truth, she hadn't seen him since the night of Emmett's birthday party at _The Depot_. ..

Somehow she ended up successful in completing some of the tasks, and she learned that no permit would be required for the storage unit. She also received reassurances that the appliances would be delivered and installed on Wednesday. _Finally some g__ood news. Miss Cullen can move in the following weekend. _She made one final call to Mrs. Cope to give her the news.

_Hmm…now that my tenant will be moving in, I think I'll have a barbeque to break the ice, _she decided. _I need a few more friends, especially women._ Rosalie was really the only female friend Bella had, and most of the time she was preoccupied with Emmett.

Deciding that she wouldn't get much more done in her current state of mind, she headed to the park. _Maybe with a bit of luck I'll see Mr. Volvo there. _

As she walked the last lap of the four-mile trek she'd committed herself to, her mind replayed the previous day's run-in with Seth.

"_Hey, Swan!" she heard Seth yell out. She'd been fortunate enough to avoid direct contact with him all week. _Why did today have to be different? _She turned toward the "summons", as that was how it had felt, and saw the 6'2" man stalking toward her with a determined look on his face._

"_Oh, fuck," she moaned to herself. _He's in defense mode.

"_Seth," she greeted him with a blank look on her face. _

"_Bitch," he responded._

"_What do you want, Seth? I'd hoped you'd be gone this week, off with Jacob chasing after Rachel's tail. Guess I wasn't so lucky after all."_

_He took a step toward her, a low growl emitting from his chest. "Why the fuck are you still around here after what you did to Jake?"_

"_Whoa, back the fuck up!" she stopped him__, looking around for any passengers that may have overheard him. _Can't afford this shit getting out_, she thought. "What do you mean what I did to Jake?" _

"_Well, Swan, you tossed his ass out of his house with no reason. He had to sleep on my couch for a week until he could find a place to live."_

"_Seriously? Are you fucking kidding me? No reason! I'm sorry. I thought that when I came home early and found him mounting Lauren like a fucking dog while she had her face buried in Jessica's pussy__ that THAT wouldn't be a valid reason!" _

"_You're just jealous," he snapped back. "He always said he wanted that with you, but you wouldn't double up. So he calls them when he wants it." _

"_Wait one fucking minute!" she all but yelled at him. "He 'calls' them when he wants that?" _Shit, how long has this been going on? And our friends knew! How could I have been so blind? _A sudden wave of nausea overcame her, and Bella turned to walk away but Seth grabbed her arm. Her head whipped around, and she glared at his hand on her forearm. "Be careful, Seth. I once spent thirty days in jail when my ex-husband grabbed my arm." Bella snarled the warning, and Seth's eyes widened. He dropped his hand and stepped back. _

"Hey, Bella." She was brought out of her reverie by the sound of her name being called. She looked around and found the source of the greeting on the basketball court.

"Hi, Sam. Hi, Paul. How's it going?" she asked.

"Pretty good," Sam replied. "Are you going to _The Depot_ tonight?"

"No, not tonight. I've had a real shitty week, and I'm in the mood for some karaoke. I'm thinking of heading to _The Falcon _instead."

The Falcon was a fairly new club in St. Charles that was known for its play on the Maltese Falcon era. On Friday nights they sponsored karaoke.

"Oh, okay. Maybe we'll see you there," Sam answered, giving Paul a conspiratorial look before they turned to walked away.

Bella rose from the bench and pulled out her phone, pressing speed dial. "Hey, Jazz, I need a DD," was the last comment that Sam and Paul heard as they walked away.

Sam winked at Paul and quickly pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "Hey, Edward. It's Sam. You fancy coming out to _The Falcon_ tonight?"

**So is everyone ready to party? **


	6. Chapter 6

**SM Owns Twilight and Characters – I'm only taking them for a ride. **

**Thanks to all that have reviewed. **

**This is my first (and hopefully not my last) **

**attempt at getting the story of Edward and Bella out of my imagination (they've been buggin the shit of out me in there!) **

**Hopefully everyone has been enjoying this story. I really hope that I get more reviews. They give me the initiative to continue the story! **

CHAPTER 6

THE FALCON

EPOV

"Hey, Edward," Edward heard when he answered his cell phone. "It's Sam. You fancy coming out to _The Falcon_ tonight?"

As much as he'd love to, especially after the week he'd had, Edward knew he should decline. "Nah, I've got to get up early tomorrow morning and take Alice up to Galena so we can pack up some of her stuff."

"Oh, well, your loss. Have fun," Sam replied.

"Whoa, wait!" Edward exclaimed, his interest now piqued. "What do you mean my loss? What's The Falcon?" He wondered if Bella would be there_. I could definitely make time to go there for a while to see her_.

"It's a club in St. Charles that's based off of the movie _The Maltese Falcon_. They play music from the 40s, and sometimes they hold swing dance competitions. But on Friday nights they host karaoke."

"Ugh, I'm not really into the whole karaoke thing, but thanks for the offer. Maybe some other time."

"Okay. Again, it's your…" Sam said, trailing off.

"My _what_, Sam?" Edward pushed. "Just come out and say why you're so determined for me to go."

"Well, Bella may be there tonight. You seemed really interested in her the other night. Thought you'd like to _know_, is all. But maybe I was wrong." Edward could hear the inflection in Sam's voice; it wasn't pushy but it wasn't discouraging either.

"Okay," Edward replied. "Where is this place, and what time are we meeting?" Sam gave him the details and hung up.

At seven thirty that evening, Edward and Alice pulled up to an old brick building—it was obvious that it used to be a bank—in the heart of downtown St. Charles. It was easily recognizable as their destination by the huge neon falcon emblem above the entrance. As they made their way into the establishment, they passed various black and white posters of movie stills from the 40s and 50s.

As he and Alice approached the table where Sam and Paul sat, Edward continued to look around at the décor, truly admiring the authenticity of it all. He also took the opportunity to look for Bella.

"She's not here yet," Sam said as they neared the table.

Edward turned toward him with a very unconvincing look of confusion on his face. "Who isn't here yet," he asked.

"Come on, Edward, you're not that good of an actor," Sam said with a guffaw. "You were just scoping out the place for Bella. Admit it!"

"No, I wasn't. I was looking around at the stills on the walls. I love old films. Hey, Allie, order me a Three Rivers cherry vodka and cola. I'll be right back." He walked away to check out some of the older lobby cards from other vintage movies. While he was away from the table, the waitress arrived and took their drink order.

Edward was partway across the room from his companions and making his way back when he saw Bella approach the table they were seated at. _Oh, man, this is my opportunity!_ He quickly strode over to the table, and as he neared he heard Bella greeting Sam and Paul.

"Hey, you guys, are you two stalking me? First the park, and now here," she joked.

"No," Paul answered. "We just met up with a couple of friends. They've never been to _The_ _Falcon_ before and we thought they'd enjoy it."

Bella turned to greet Alice. "Hello, I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you," she said pleasantly. Edward, who was now standing behind her, was enthralled by the beauty of her voice. "Are you new to the area?"

"It's nice to meet you, too, Bella. I'm Alice. And, yes, I am new to the area…in a way. I moved here a little over a month ago. I'm staying with my cousin, Edward."

"Welcome to the area. Maybe I'll see you around. It is a small town, after all. Well, guys," Bella looked around at the three friends, "I'm going to head over to my table. Jazz said he's going to try to come by later. See you around. It was nice to meet you, Alice."

Just as Bella turned to leave, Edward took a step closer to the table, resulting in her running into him chest first. _Finally! I get to meet her,_ he thought. He had his usual trademark lopsided grin in place as he watched her gaze rise to his face, but it quickly subsided when Bella just continued to stare at him without speaking a word. Her eyes roamed his face while a sad smile graced her lips; lips that he felt a strong urge to devour. She then sidestepped him and walked away without a word. His previous good mood quickly turned sour.

"What the hell was that all about?" he heard Alice exclaim. "That was really rude of her not to even acknowledge him. Edward, are you okay?" she asked softly, worried about the forlorn look on his face.

"_That_ was Bella," Sam replied. "She won't talk to men she doesn't know. Never has since we've known her."

"How long have you known her?" Edward asked, curious to know how long it may take for him to get on her good side, even if she _did_ just snub him.

"Well," Sam began, "we met her three years ago after she moved here. She was a bit more standoffish then. There was a block party going on in the neighborhood. It was her first exposure to the small town that is Elburn. After a while, we were able to get her to come out with us. She's a great person once she lets loose."

"Yeah," Paul interrupted, "until the pack turned on her, and she reverted back to the way she is now…"

"Pack? What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Edward asked.

"Well," Paul explained. "Sam and I are the only two from the tribe that are still friends with Bella after…"

"_Paul_! It's not our story to tell!" Sam commanded.

"I wasn't going to say how it ended, just that it did. Edward at least deserves to know why she just acted the way she did, and we both know it won't come from her."

"Fine," Sam replied. "Just be diplomatic about it."

Edward turned toward Paul for the story, but as he turned he noticed the waitress walk by with two glasses half full of dark stout and two shot glasses of an amber liquor. He watched as the drinks were placed in front of Bella at her table.

"Um, Paul, what the hell is that she's drinking" Edward asked, nodding toward Bella's table. Paul glanced over.

"Oh, shit! She _did_ have a bad week at work!" _Good thing she called for a designated driver, _Edward thought. "It's an Irish Car Bomb."

"A _what _bomb?" Edward asked, confused about the terminology.

"Obviously you haven't been in an Irish pub before. It's a half pint of Guinness and a shot of Jameson. You drop the shot glass in the pint and chug it. Those fuckers are potent."

Just as Paul finished explaining the drink, Bella completed the process and pushed the empty glass away with a shake of her head. _Holy shit! I can't believe she just chugged that! _Edward thought. He then heard an unexpected expletive next to him.

"Oh, shit!" Paul exclaimed as he and Edward watched her down the second drink. "It must have been a _real _fucking bad week. Sam, you still got Jazz's number?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Bells just shot two bombs."

"Oh, fuck! We'll keep an eye on her until he gets here, then. But if it looks like it's getting out of hand before he arrives, I'll call him."

Edward looked between the two of them. "What do you mean _until he gets here_?" he asked. "Did you know she was going to be here and what her intentions were?" he asked.

"Well, we saw Bella at the park today," Paul said. "She mentioned she was coming here tonight, and we overheard her on the phone telling Jasper that she needed a designated driver for tonight."

_Well,_ thought Edward, _at least she's responsible enough to ask for a designated driver beforehand._ But it bothered him for some reason that she'd had a rough enough week to warrant getting trashed.

"Edward." Alice's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Watch out on your left. You're being descended upon," she warned.

Edward gave her a confused look just as he felt fingers lightly touch his forearm and heard a sultry purr in his ear.

"Hello, handsome. You're new here. I'm Irina." The blonde batted her lashes and flashed what was _meant_ to be a seductive smile, but it came across as more of a predatory snarl.

_Those dark red lips make her mouth look like she's just sucked the life blood out of someone, _Edward thought.

"Uh, hello," he replied, pulling his arm away from her. "I'm Edward, and this is my girlfriend, Alice." He looked over at Alice with a pleading look on his face, silently begging her to go along with the ruse. He frequently received way more unwanted attention from women than he was comfortable with.

"Girlfriend, huh?" Irina whispered into his ear while glancing over at Alice, giving her the once over. "Well, I come here a lot, so if you ever need some company…" she trailed off with a slight squeeze on his forearm.

"Excuse me! I would really like for you to pull your talons out of his arm," Alice hissed.

Irina pulled her hand away from Edward's arm, glared at Alice one last time, and then stormed away.

"Thanks, Allie. I don't understand what the hell it is with the women around here lately. I feel like a slab of meat on sale sometimes."

A few minutes later the DJ announced that it was karaoke time. He invited everyone that was interested to sign up to come pick out their songs. Edward watched as Bella rose, a little unsteadily, and approached the DJ booth.

"Oh, holy hell," he heard Sam curse. "Now, what is she doing?"

**So - reviews give me an idea of how you're enjoying this. And just WHAT do you think Bella's about to do? Hmmm? **


	7. Chapter 7

**Loving all of the reviews that I'm getting. **

**The best thing is the support that I get from Caz, my pre-reader, Beta's Shiloh Wallace and Jasper's Destiny. **

**They have been the most supportive and helpful when I get stuck in my own world. **

RTR

SM owns Twilight and characters. I'm just taking them for a ride.

CHAPTER 7

IT'S MY LIFE

As Bella entered _The_ _Falcon_, she glanced around the room in search of familiar faces. Her gaze met Sam's, and a small smile graced her mouth. _Ah, my loyal friends from the pack. _She noticed that there was a small dark-haired women seated with them. A sense of familiarity came over her. As she approached the table, she took a moment to look at her closer. She recognized her as the woman Rose had said was Mr. Volvo's cousin. _Hmm…wonder if he's here. _She didn't see him when she looked around. When she got to the table, she greeted Sam and Paul.

"Hey, you guys. Are you two stalking me?" she joked.

"No, we're here with a couple of friends," Sam replied. "We just met up with a couple of friends. They've never been to _The_ _Falcon_ before and we thought they'd enjoy it."

Bella turned to greet Alice. "Hello, I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you." She reached out a hand to shake Alice's. "Are you new to the area?" Bella asked as the two women shook hands and smiled warmly at each other.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Bella. I'm Alice. And, yes, I am new to the area…in a way," she answered. "I moved here a little over a month ago. I'm staying with my cousin, Edward." Alice wanted to drop the hint of his name to see if Bella would take the bait and maybe ask about him. She knew that Bella had noticed him at _The Depot_ the other night.

_Edward. Finally, Mr. Volvo has a name!_She quickly conjured up a vision of her yelling out his name in the throes of passion, his toned muscular torso glistening with sweat while moving above hers as he pounded into her. She shook the vision from her mind and focused back on Alice. "Welcome to the area. Maybe I'll see you around. It is a small town, after all. Well, guys," Bella said to them all, "I'm going to head over to my table. Jazz said he's going to try to come by later. See you around. It was nice to meet you, Alice." She turned to leave and ran right into what felt like a wall.

Once she realized that she had not, in fact, hit a wall but a very solid chest, she looked up until she met the intense green eyes of Edward. Her gaze roamed his face as she took in his strong defined jaw, supple lips, and the most incredibly long lashes on a man that she'd ever seen. She watched as his adorable lopsided grin fell and he suddenly looked uncomfortable. She knew she had to escape before she embarrassed herself. She couldn't say a word, she was so unnerved, so she sidestepped him and walked away to an empty table across the room.

_I can't believe I didn't say anything. What an idiot I am! That was the perfect opportunity to talk to him and I blew it. God, he must think I'm a real bitch. _Bella sat and berated herself for the next few minutes. When the server approached her, she ordered a double shot of courage, two Irish Car Bombs. She didn't bother telling the server that both drinks were for her, as they wouldn't normally serve someone two drinks at a time. Especially these drinks.

After the server returned with the drinks and left, Bella dropped the shot glass into the pint glass and downed the drink, shaking her head when she was finished. _Fuck! That's potent._ She hadn't had one of these since before she left Houston and her asshole ex-husband. She quickly repeated the process with the second drink. Thoughts of her past invaded her mind. _Maybe those weren't the best drinks to start off with. I've got to get past that time in my life._ Royce was out of her life for good. _There's no need to dwell on it,_ she thought. _Then why do I? What happened was not your fault,_ she reminded herself. But the scars, both inside and out, were a constant reminder that she wasn't totally without fault either.

The DJ announced that it was time for karaoke, bringing her out of her deep thoughts. _Hmm…well, I _did_ come here to have a good time, might as well start now._ With that, she rose and walked over to make her song selection.

Bella was the second in line to sing, and she approached the stage determined when her turn came. _I can do this, _she reassured herself. _I am a strong, independent woman, and I can handle the world!_ Bella had chosen one of her favorite inspiring songs for her performance. She grabbed the microphone, nodded to the DJ, and took her place.

Moments later, Bon Jovi's _It's My Life_ screamed through the speakers. Bella lost herself in the song. She remembered hearing the initial thrum of the music but didn't really remember much after that.

When she finished the song, she noted that she was shaking and perspiring more than usual. _Oh, my God, I hope I didn't just make a fool out of myself,_ she thought. She nervously looked around at the patrons and was surprised to see a number of them standing and clapping loudly. Her eyes met the darkly hooded eyes of Edward. She remembered that his eyes were normally a deep green, but they now appeared almost black, and a shudder ran through her body. There was also a look of what she could only describe as "hunger" on his face. She quickly turned, put the microphone down, and nearly ran from the stage area.

She pushed her way through a few people and headed straight into the ladies bathroom, where she entered one of the stalls and slammed the door shut. _Oh, Lord! What did I do?_ Granted, she had wanted to attract his attention, but the look on his face frightened her. He looked like he wanted to eat her alive. Bella took a few deep breaths, left the stall, and walked to the sink, where she ran some cool water over the pulse points on her wrists to calm herself.

As she exited the bathroom, she glanced over to the table that Edward had been sitting at and noticed that he was no longer there, though the other three occupants remained. _Thank God! Maybe he left,_ she hoped. Her earlier reaction to the look he'd had on his face still troubled her. She made her way back to her table just as the server was passing by, and she ordered a glass of chardonnay and a glass of water. _No more Car Bombs for me tonight,_ she conceded.

Just as she took her seat, the DJ announced the next karaoke performer. She looked up and her breath caught in her throat. Standing on the stage area, with long fingers wrapped around the microphone—the same microphone she had used earlier, she reminded herself, and was instantly jealous of the inanimate object—was Edward.

She noticed that he looked a little nervous as the opening chords to Bon Jovi's _Wanted Dead or Alive_ came out of the speakers. _Fuck me! He's not seriously about to sing that song!_ Bon Jovi was one of her favorite bands, and this song had always gotten her _hot_.

She noticed then that he didn't look just a _little_ nervous, as she'd thought earlier, but _big time nervous_. She hoped for his sake that he snapped out of it. She knew from experience that this could be a cruel crowd if you got up there and didn't deliver a good performance. She saw him close his eyes, take a deep breath, then belt out the first note with the most seductive yet strong voice she'd ever heard. Her pulse increased, and a warmth spread through her body as she watched him pour his soul into the performance. _Holy shit! I think my panties just disintegrated! _

Bella couldn't take her eyes off him for one second while he sang, even when the server approached to give her the drinks she'd ordered. She found herself riveted to him while he performed. Bella hungrily took in the sight of him, dressed in tight button-fly black jeans, a white button-up shirt crisply pressed with the top three buttons undone. There was some sparse chest hair showing at the opening of his shirt; she'd never been a fan of hairy men, and this just made her desire for him even stronger.

When he'd completed the song, she applauded along with everyone else and watched as he returned to his table, his face flushed with either excitement or embarrassment, she couldn't tell which. She was truly happy that he hadn't bombed out on the performance. A movement to her right caught her attention, and she turned that way as Jasper took a seat next to her.

"Hey, Sugar," Jasper greeted her, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. "How's it going?"

Jasper regarded her closely. When he'd first entered the club, he'd run into Sam by the bar, who'd informed him of the two Car Bombs she'd drank earlier. He noticed that she didn't seem to be affected by them now and that she was now drinking wine—and more importantly, water. He looked across the dance floor and saw Sam and Paul sitting at a table with a couple. The guy looked familiar to him. He then took in the sight of the dark haired woman sitting next to the stranger. _Holy hell!_

"Um, Bella, who is that woman sitting at Sam's table?" he asked, hoping that she knew, or at least knew of a way to find out.

"Oh, that's Alice. She's new to the area. Why?"

"Oh, praise the gods, you know her!" Jasper exclaimed excitedly.

"Well, I wouldn't say that I know her, per se, Jasper. I just met her, I only know her name and that she's living with the man next to her." She looked over to watch Jasper's face at that bit of news. She knew it was cruel, but she'd make it up to him soon.

"Oh, she is?" Jasper asked, his earlier good mood deflated.

Bella looked closely at Jasper's face, and she couldn't continue to torture him. Even though he hadn't even spoken a word to Alice, she could see the attraction to her in his eyes.

"Yes, Jazz, she's living with him while she finds her own place. They're cousins."

His face suddenly lit up. He reached over and pulled Bella into a tight hug and deposited another quick, chaste kiss on her lips.

**Someone asked where Bella got her money, that will be revealed in a few chapters. Can't put everything out there at once! **

**Reviews get you previews! Let me feel some love. **


	8. Chapter 8

**All of you are just great! The reviews I'm getting are wonderful. **

**I've been hiding in the corner waiting to see what everyone has to say! **

**Now we'll see how things work out. **

**Thanks again to Caz, Shiloh Wallace and Jasper's Destiny. Oh and check out my profile for links to the songs. **

RTR CHAPTER 8

PREY

DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!

Edward watched as Bella made her way confidently to the DJ booth. He took the time to closely observe her attire. The top she wore was a dark emerald green with contrasting black swirls that made a subtle pattern on the flimsy fabric. The scooped neckline afforded Edward a tantalizing glimpse of her décolletage.. Edward swallowed as he saw the way the material hugged her breasts then sloped down over her ribcage and her stomach like a second skin, accentuating her slim curves.

As his gaze continued downward, he saw that she wore a narrow black band around her midriff and a short dark green chiffon skirt below that—and what appeared to be a _very _short black skirt underneath that, the length of which was possibly no more than four inches from the top of her thighs. _Holy shit, if she bends over her ass is going to be on display!_ As he continued to watch her, she stepped to the side a little, allowing him a clearer view, and he realized that the tiny black skirt was actually a pair of tight fitting shorts. _Hmm…interesting outfit._

His gaze swept down her long, shapely, bare legs and ended on the most fucking incredibly sexy pair of black stilettos he had ever seen. The delicate, black straps wrapped around her slim ankles, and the heels were at least four inches tall. Visions of those gorgeous legs wrapped around his head, with the heels hanging over his shoulders and pressing into his back, suddenly assaulted him, making his cock harden and throb against his zipper.

"Edward." The sound of Alice's voice pulled him abruptly from his lusty daydream. "Do you need a napkin? You're drooling all over the table."

"Very funny, Alice," he replied.

"Oh, wow! Did you see those shoes Bella has on? They're Christian Louboutins, Burlina style," she all but squealed as she grabbed Edward's arm tightly.

"You do realize I have no clue what you're talking about, right?" He looked at her like she had flipped her mind.

"Funny, Edward. You just don't have any idea about style. Louboutins are some of the most well-known shoes out there, right along with Jimmy Choos."

Edward shook his head, again having no clue what she was talking about. He decided to let her ramble on while he continued to watch Bella by the DJ booth. _One thing I know for sure: Whoever this Christian guy is, I'd love to send him a thank you note. _

After the first performer had finished their song, Bella climbed onto the small stage and took the microphone. She gave a slight nod to the DJ, and the beginning chords of Bon Jovi's _It's My Life_ blared from the speakers. With a newfound respect for karaoke, Edward watched as Bella closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and belted out the words to a song that he both knew and loved well. He continued to watch as she poured her heart into her performance. She seemed completely lost in the song, totally unaware that there were approximately two hundred people watching her sing. She moved fluidly around the stage while performing the song, her eyes barely open. She turned her back to the audience just as she sang the lyrics:

_Better stand tall when they're calling you out.  
>Don't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down.<em>

Then pumping her fist in the air in time with the beats, she quickly turned back to the front of the room and finished with the chorus, seeming to stare straight into Edward's eyes as she sang with purpose.

_It's my life,_

_And it's now or never,_

_'Cause I ain't gonna live forever,  
>I just want to live while I'm alive,<em>

_(It's my life)  
>My heart is like an open highway,<br>Like Frankie said,  
>I did it my way,<br>I just want to live while I'm alive,_

'_Cause. It's. My. Life!_

Edward inhaled sharply. For some reason, the way she sang the lyrics, "_I just want to live while I'm alive,"_ disturbed him. Even though he didn't know her, he couldn't imagine a world where she wasn't alive. He continued to stare at her, unable to pull his gaze from her face. He _wanted _her, more than he'd _ever _wanted anything in his entire life.

Suddenly, as the song ended, she opened her eyes wide, looked around the room, and then locked gazes with Edward. He watched as she broke out of whatever spell she seemed to have been under and bolted from the stage.

"Edward," Paul said from beside him. "Are you going to sing? It's really fun."

Edward looked back at the now vacant spot on stage and made a decision he would probably regret later. He rose from his seat and chose a song, debating whether to sing _Rockstar _by Nickleback or _Wanted Dead or Alive_ by Bon Jovi. He'd never been a fan of his singing voice, but he'd been told that he could sing either with no problem. He chose Bon Jovi. Thankfully, there were three other people ahead of him, so he was able to partake of some liquid courage before it was his turn to sing.

Bella had still not returned to her table when he made his way onto the small stage. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to be in the room when he started to sing or not. The music started, and he put his entire soul into the performance. When he finished, he made his way back to his table, wanting nothing more than to get drunk. _I can't believe I just did that_. He was too nervous to even look around to see if Bella had returned and seen him perform.

After a few moments, he built up the courage to glance around. Just as his eyes fell on the table where Bella sat, he watched as the guy that she had been with at _The Depot_ last Friday pull her into a tight hug and kiss her on the mouth. _Well, hell. Guess she was too busy with _him_ to even notice my humiliation._

Edward looked down at his glass. "Alice, it's late," he said, interrupting her conversation with Paul. "We have to get up early and get on the road. Let's go." He stood up, said his goodbyes to Paul and Sam, and turned to leave.

At the last minute, he turned to look over at Bella's table just as she and her guy took to the dance floor. He watched as he effortlessly lifted Bella off the floor and flipped her over in midair during their dance. Now he understood why she was wearing shorts. The way he kept lifting her up, and the way she was putting her legs around him then kicking back out, would have been impossible in just a skirt

"Edward, come on. You were in _such_ a hurry not five minutes ago. I want to be sure to get my time out of you tomorrow. If you're hung over, you won't be any help." With that, Alice turned to leave, stepping out onto the dance floor just as Bella and her partner passed by them, accidentally knocking into her. Edward immediately went into defensive mode.

"Hey, watch it, man!" he practically yelled. "Who do you think you are? Fred Astaire?"

The guy looked at Edward with a shocked expression on his face before turning toward Alice. "My apologies, ma'am," he said as he took her delicate hand in his and raised it to his lips before turning to whisk Bella away.

"Fucking asshole," Edward remarked as the two of them turned back to the dance floor.

Jasper turned back toward Edward with a scowl on his face. "Excuse me? Just who the fuck are _you_? I apologized, and she's not injured." He looked over at Alice for confirmation.

"Edward, it's okay." Alice put a calming hand on his forearm. "Let's just go, okay?" She really didn't want any confrontation between them. She pictured the four of them as friends in the near future, and she didn't want to jeopardize that possibility. With that thought in mind, she took Edward by the elbow and led him out of _The Falcon_.

**If you'd like to receive teasers, show me some love by reviewing! **


	9. Chapter 9

So, how's it going so far? Everyone staying on board? I was asked if I planned on making the chapters longer? Any thoughts on that?

I'll work as hard as I can, but it may make the postings a little more less frequent.

Thanks again to Caz, Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny for keeping me from de-railing!

RTR CHAPTER 9

SHOES

DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!

"Jimmy Choos…rail…lease…Bella…Christian…"

Five minutes into their ride home, Alice's muttering finally got the best of him and Edward couldn't take it anymore.

"Alice! What the hell are you rambling about?"The mere mention of the words Bella and Christian in the same sentence brought back his earlier thoughts, and his brain was immediately assaulted with images of fuck-hot shoes and long, supple legs wrapped around his shoulders.

"Oh, nothing," Alice answered hesitantly. "I'm just going over some things for next week, before I move into my new place." One of the things she planned to check when she got home was her lease. She wanted to be sure she had signed up for eight hundred per month and not eight hundred per week. She knew from experience that the shoes she'd seen Bella wearing earlier were not cheap. As she was set to receive a pair of Christian Louboutins in her new salon for display, along with items from other designers, she knew exactly what a pair of those shoes cost.

Alice had never been one to judge someone before actually meeting them, and in this situation she was torn. Mrs. Cope's description of Bella and her recent introduction to Bella were warring with her present thoughts of Bella as a "gold digger", someone who was always looking to take a quick buck from someone.

When they pulled up to Edward's house, she ran inside and immediately pulled out her lease. A moment of remorse hit her as she noted that she had not been duped in her lease.

"Ali, are you okay?" Edward asked. "You shot out of the car like a rubber band hit you."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to check something on the lease for the storage unit." Her lie to Edward tore at her. She wanted to tell him everything, but there was something that held her back.

"Okaaaay, then. We should probably turn in, as we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Edward could tell that something was off, but he wasn't really sure what it could be. He could see the struggle in Alice's face, almost like she wanted to tell him something but wasn't sure if she should. He could read her so well; it had always been that way since they were kids. "So, I thought we should leave here around eight tomorrow morning," Edward continued. "We can stop for breakfast in Sycamore on the way, since we'll passing through there anyway. There's a diner there that opened recently that a couple of the guys at the office have talked about."

"Sure." Alice answered, still a little angry at herself for her previous thoughts. "That sounds great. It should take us about two hours to get up to Galena after that."

"Ali, are you sure you're okay?" Edward asked. He was truly concerned about her. She seemed angry at herself.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Edward," she answered with a grin. "I'm just tired. I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well." She reached up and kissed him on the cheek and turned to enter her bedroom.

"Night, pixie," Edward replied before entering his own room.

"_Edward. Edward. EDWARD!"_

The bed shook and he heard his name being called, the voice getting louder and louder with each repetition.

"What?" he answered sleepily, not wanting to open his eyes just yet. Just a few more minutes of rest was all he wanted.

"Wake up, damn it!" Alice shook him again. "We're supposed to leave in thirty minutes and you're still in bed. I can't believe you!" She turned and stomped out of his room.

"Okay. Jeez, keep your pantyhose on," he groaned as he slipped from between the sheets and made his way into his en suite.

He stepped into the shower spray. The heat of the water worked wonders on his muscles, which were tight from Alice's rude wake-up call. He'd been in the middle of an excellent dream about Bella, and his cock hardened at the memory. He closed his eyes, remembering that in his dream he and Bella had been in this very shower. She'd lowered herself to her knees and had just been about to take him into her mouth. He put his hand around his shaft and pumped up and down a few times. "Oh, God," he moaned, leaning forward to put his other hand against the tile wall while continuing to pump his now _very_ hard erection. He stroked down hard, then slowly stroked up to the tip, his palm rubbing across the head to collect some of the pre-cum there before slamming back down to the base. He imagined it was her hot, little mouth on him, her tongue sweeping across his tip, and her full lips and teeth gripping and scraping along his shaft. After about the tenth pass, he felt the familiar tightening in his balls and abdomen. On his next upstroke he lightly pinched the head of his cock then slammed back down to the base.

"Fuck!" he softly cursed as streams of cum shot out of him and washed down the drain. _What the hell was that?_ he thought. He had never had such a reaction to a dream in his life. _If that's what it's like being with her in a dream, I hope to experience it first-hand soon._

He quickly finished his shower, dressed, and met Alice in the foyer within thirty minutes.

"Well, Shorty, you ready to get this show on the road?" he teased as he passed her on his way out the door. "Come on, we'll be late if I have to wait on you too much longer."

"Humph," he heard from Alice as they stepped outside.

"That really was a great diner, Edward," Alice said, complimenting his recommendation as they drove north toward Galena after stopping for breakfast. "We'll have to go back there again. It's close enough to Elburn."

"Yes, it is, but don't forget we've also got some fine diners around Elburn as well," he reminded her. Edward was always one to support the local businesses when possible, especially the ones in small towns. He hated to see mom and pop shops close down. He'd always been a supporter of the underdogs.

When they neared the Galena area, Edward was stunned at the beauty of the landscape. Alice told him that the town rested in a valley next to the Galena River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, and was surrounded by hills, bluffs, and large amounts of exposed rock. She explained on the drive through the area that it was named after the mineral _galena_, a natural form of lead sulfide, the most important lead ore mineral. Native Americans, which included the Sac and Fox tribes, had mined the ore in Galena for use in body painting. In the 1690s, French trappers discovered the area and began to mine the lead as well. In a little over a hundred years, American settlers started to arrive in the area. In 1816 a retired colonel in the United States Army successfully shipped Galena's first boatload of lead ore down the Mississippi River. Three years later a trading post was built in Galena, which led to the first steamboat arrival in 1824. And the town grew from there. She also pointed out that the town had been the residence of Ulysses S. Grant.

At Alice's direction, Edward drove across the bridge and turned right to enter the downtown core. He noted that there were two very heavy green doors at the entrance of the town.

"Um, Alice?" He looked over to her. "Why are there doors at the entrance of the town? Do they lock everyone in at night?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, I forget about those," Alice said with a snicker. "Those are floodgates. Since the town is right next to the river, it's susceptible to floods." She went on to explain that there was a record of a flood in the early 1800s that had been so bad that steamboats could navigate through the downtown streets.

As they drove through town, Edward took a moment to look around. He'd never made a trip up to visit Alice when she lived here and was instantly sorry. The town was old but had vitality to it, the streets busy with shoppers. There were antique stores and dining establishments of all kinds, from old fashioned candy stores to a silver service-style restaurant.

"God, Alice," he sighed, "it's gorgeous up here. Why didn't you ever ask me to visit?"

"Edward, I told you plenty of times to come up. You just never took the time," she answered with a shake of her head. "It's not that far away. We can always come back. It's not like the town will go away."

Alice instructed him to take a left on the next street. As he turned, he noticed that the street was made of bricks and had a very steep incline, and there was an old house situated at the top of the road.

"Holy hell, Alice," he exclaimed. "Is that where you lived?"

"No, that was my shop," she replied. "I just wanted to stop by and make sure that the women I hired have finished and that the inventory has been shipped. My old place is on the outer part of town. We'll go there next."

Once parked, Edward and Alice entered the shop and looked around. The empty shelves and display cabinets gave the place a spooky feel. "What happened here, Alice? Why are you moving to Elburn?" Edward couldn't help but ask. He knew about his cousin's talent and was surprised at her decision to just up and leave the area.

"Well, it's been an eye-opening experience, Edward." She sighed as she gazed around wistfully. "The area is great, the people are friendly, but there isn't much of a demand for designer clothes. My initial thought of hitting it off with the local débutantes didn't work out. The location was one of the issues. The most profitable shops are on the main street, but the lease rates there are astronomical. I can't believe that the antique shops are making it, let alone the art galleries," Alice lamented.

Edward watched Alice as she wandered forlornly around her old shop. The sadness of leaving the area and its familiarity were evident in her eyes. She looked like someone leaving a beloved childhood home. He knew that she'd worked hard for years building up her collection of designer clothes as well as working on her own creations.

"Hey, pixie," he said as he approached her and swept her into a strong hug. "You'll always be my top designer." He planted a quick kiss to the top of her head. "Now, show me where you lived before you made my house your home."

Back in the car, Alice directed him through a number of turns along some narrow streets until they pulled up to a small one-story cottage.

"Wow, Allie, you lived here?" Edward couldn't keep the wonder out of his voice. The place was tiny. It reminded him of what a dwelling in a fairytale would look like. They walked through the curved wooden door frame into a small living room with curved ceilings. There didn't appear to be a single square wall in sight. The same design continued throughout the entire house.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Edward." Alice sighed. "As little as it is, it was home." Edward felt remorse for his earlier comment, seeing clearly how sad Alice was to be leaving her home.

They worked together diligently, packing the items for the movers to take and those that Alice wanted to move on her own. "I've asked the real estate agent to contact the landlord to see if I can possibly move some personal things into the unit before the end of the week," Alice said as they worked. "I'd like to ensure that those are secure. I'd hate to put them in the portable units."

"Good idea," Edward responded. "Are you sure you don't want to just keep them at my place until you get settled?"

"No, these I _have _to move from one personal space to another. Grams told me that when she gave them to me," Alice whispered.

It didn't take long before everything was packed up and Alice stood taking one final look around her old home. Not wanting her to dwell on her sadness, Edward slipped a comforting arm around his cousin's shoulders. "Okay, then, let's get this show on the road and get back home. How about we have Mexican for dinner? I'm up for trying that new Tia-something-or-other in St. Charles," Edward offered.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you so much for everyone following this story along. Hopefully I'm not dragging it out too long. Don't worry - they'll be getting together soon!**

**Sorry this chapter is short, when I saw the word count it seemed longer. I promise they'll get longer as the story progresses.**

**It was hard to write. You have to realize the pain that she's going through.**

**Thanks again to my pre-reader Caz and my Beta's Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny.**

**WARNING: There is graphic topics covered in this chapter.**

RIDING THE RAILS

Chapter 10

NIGHTMARES

**DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!**

"Finish your drink first and give me a kiss." Bella heard. "Then go and make me some money, wife."

_She could almost feel his hands as he pushed her away from the table. Then she heard grunts and laughter as a sea of faces swam before her hazy vision. _

"NO! NO! NO!" she screamed as she woke in a sweat. _Fuck, why me? Why can't I just get over it? _she asked herself.

It was eight-thirty Saturday morning and Bella was still in bed. She didn't have the energy to move. The nightmare that had woken her up, memories of a horrible point in her previous life, would give her no rest. She sat back against the pillows, powerless to stop the memories that invaded her mind.

_She exited the stage after her dance routine, looking around for her next "mark". Unfortunately, her gaze landed on a face she hated: "Rolls" Royce King. God, his parents were so fucking stupid when they chose that name. They must have thought a fancy name would ensure a successful man. Were they ever wrong about that… _

Fuck! What is he doing here? _she wondered. _And who are those men with him? _Bella had repeatedly told Royce that he couldn't be at the club when she was working. It wasn't that she was in love with him, but she didn't feel right when she stripped on stage or performed lap dances while he was present. He made her feel like a piece of meat on display with that look in his eyes. Plus, the manager of the club pretty much prohibited spouses to be in attendance. _

_She wondered why Jackson, the club manager, had let him in. Maybe it had something to do with the three men seated with him and the fact that he had brought in new customers. _

_Bella saw Royce wave her over and she approached his table hesitantly. _

"_Hello, Bella, dear," Royce greeted her when she reached the table. She fucking hated that term of endearment, especially from him._

"_Royce," she replied with false sweetness, "what are you doing here? You know you aren't supposed to be here when I'm on duty." _

"_Well, dear," he said through clenched teeth, "I just wanted to show you off to my friends here." He gestured over to the three men sitting at the table. _

"_See, guys? Didn't I tell you she was a beauty and a spitfire?" He reached out and tweaked her right nipple, hard. _

"_What the fuck, Royce?" Bella screamed at him as she covered her chest. "Do you want me to get busted? You know you aren't supposed to touch the dancers!"_

_Royce snatched her wrist in a vice-like grip and hissed into her face, "Bitch, I can do whatever I want. I fucking own you! Remember that!" He threw her hand back at her. "Get dressed. I want you to entertain my friends. I've already ordered you a drink. A _real_ drink."_

_Bella made her way back to the dressing room and put on an outfit that covered her as much as possible. Her instincts warned her that she needed to be on alert. Unfortunately, the time for modesty had passed, as she'd already walked up to Royce's table in nothing but a G-string and five-inch heels._

_As she approached the table for the second time, she noticed that Royce and his companions were engrossed in photographs that lay on the table in front of them. As Bella got closer, she could see that some of the photos were of women. Suddenly, the photos were pulled from the table by the man that sat across from Royce before she could get a good look at them. Royce swiftly pulled Bella into the chair next to him and pushed a drink toward her. _

"_Here, I ordered you a Jack and Coke. Drink it," he all but snarled at her. _

"_Royce," she interjected. "You know I'm not supposed to drink while I'm working." _

_"I don't give a fuck about the rules. Drink your drink, now!" he snapped. _

_With a heavy sigh, Bella took a sip of her drink and almost choked on the strength of it. _

"_Holy shit! That's almost full booze. Um," she said as she started to get up, "I'm going to get some more Coke added to this." _

_Before she could leave the table, Royce grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her back into her seat. "No. You don't need to add anything. The drink is fine. You just haven't had anything to drink in a while." _

_Bella flinched as he squeezed again on her elbow. She remembered the last time that he'd done that and the mini vacation that had resulted from it. The jail time had sucked, but at least she'd been free of him for the time. _

_She continued to sip slowly on her drink, all the while observing Royce. She had no idea what he was up to and wanted to keep a clear head. Royce introduced her to his companions. She didn't recognize any of them from the group of friends Royce normally hung around with. _

_Curt was a large, red-headed man who was in serious need of breath mints. Oscar was a small Hispanic-looking man who continuously popped the gum in his mouth__. The last man she was introduced to, James, made Bella's skin crawl. Occasionally she would glance over and see James staring at her. An alarm sounded in her head, warning her to steer clear of him. Of all of them, actually. _

"_Royce," Bella said nervously, hesitant to interrupt his conversation with Oscar. "I'm up to dance after the next two songs. I have to go get ready." _Why couldn't I be next, _she wished. Bella wanted to get away from the three strangers as soon as possible. _

_Royce looked over at her, smiled a lecherous smile, and nodded to her. "Sure, baby. Finish your drink first and give me a kiss," he demanded, in a manner that pretty much gave her no choice. _

_Bella leaned in to give him a quick, chaste kiss, but he turned it into something more aggressive. She pulled back and rubbed her swollen lips, and then picked up her drink with the intention of taking a sip, but Royce reached out, grabbed the bottom of the glass, and tipped it back until she'd finished the entire drink. _

"_Now," he bit her earlobe, hard, "go make me some fucking money, wife," he growled in her ear. A chill ran down Bella's spine at his tone. _

_As she stood to leave the table, she felt slightly wobbly. _Wow, that drink really hit me, _she thought. When she reached the dressing room, she felt flushed and a lot more relaxed. She put on one of her sexier outfits for her next performance and walked out to the stage to perform. Bella began to grind her body against the pole, her consciousness slipping away as she lost herself in the pulsating beat of the music. _

_BEEP_

_BEEP_

_An annoying, repetitive sound began to break through into her consciousness, pushing at the edges of the fog that filled her mind, pulling her slowly back to reality__._

_BEEP_

_BEEP_

_Bella tried to turn her head but could not find the strength to do so. She tried to raise her arm but found that it was too heavy for her to lift. She could hear voices but could not see the people they came from. Panic set in as she registered extreme pain in her abdomen and lower regions. She listened to the disembodied voices. _

"_Looks like more than one attacker by the samples that were taken. We're not sure of the extent of the damage. It's apparent she won't be able to—" _

"_Doctor, the officer brought in her information. Her emergency contact is Royce King. I'll go call him." _

_Bella moaned and whispered, "NO."_

"_Doctor, she's going into cardiac arrest! Grab the crash cart!" _

_BEEP_

_BEEP_

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEP_

_**Well, what do you think? Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. Trying to get everything done in my RL. I will NEVER underestimate a professional writer again!** _


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm loving all the reviews, they're keeping me going. **

**Thanks again to my wonderful friend Caz for pre-reading, to Shiloh Wallace and Jasper's Destiny for continually correcting and teaching me. I'll get it down one of these days! **

RIDING THE RAILS TR CHAPTER 11

RECOVERING

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride.

**WARNING: This chapter will contain sexual and physical abuse topics. Proceed with caution. This chapter is a flashback set in Houston four years prior. **

_**Houston, 2007 **_

_BEEP _

_BEEP_

_BEEP_

Bella heard an incessant noise and tried to turn her head to find the source of the irritation_. _"Oh,"she moaned out loud_. __Not a good move_, she thought, as a wave of nausea overtook her and she clenched her eyes shut.

"Well, welcome back," a female voice greeted Bella. "Don't try to move too much, honey, you've been through a lot in the past few days."

Bella felt warm fingers grasp her wrist lightly. She slowly opened her eyes and found that the voice and fingers belonged to a young, brown haired woman. Her name badge read _Angela. _

"Where am I?" Bella squeaked out in a hoarse voice. "What happened?" Panic set in as Bella felt her chest tighten; she couldn't remember anything.

"Well, I don't know exactly what happened, but I can tell you that you've been here for five days," Angela answered while she continued checking Bella's vital stats.

Bella gasped. "Five days? I've been here _five_ days! I don't remember _anything_. How did I get here? Please," Bella pleaded, "you have to tell me." Her pulse quickened and she felt as if a heavy weight had been placed on her chest.

"Calm down, Isabella," Angela said, trying to soothe her. "It's not good for your recovery to get upset."

Bella tried to take Angela's advice to calm down, but her mind was not able to comply. She felt her chest tighten further, and she was unable to take a deep breath. Her mind was screaming that this was just a mistake. She couldn't be here. Nothing had changed._If nothing's happened then why am I in a hospital bed, with tubes and monitors_,she thought.

"Isabella," Angela interrupted her internal rambling, "once I finish with this I'll go get the doctor and he can talk to you. Now, let's get you in a more comfortable position so you can eat," Angela said as she moved the top of Bella's bed into an upright position.

Bella tried to push herself up higher in the bed and was immediately assaulted with immense pain throughout her lower regions. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed. "That fucking hurt!"

Angela glanced at her before she quickly turned away, unable to meet Bella's eyes. "Um, let me go get the doctor. He'll explain everything," she said as she fiddled nervously with Bella's chart before hastily returning it to the end of the bed and dashing from the room.

Bella felt her breaths increase. She was suddenly afraid to talk to the doctor, to find out what had happened to her. Slowly she lifted the sheet that covered her. Her right hand hesitated over the hem of her hospital gown. _You can do this, Bella. It's probably nothing. No worse than what he's done to you in the past. Remember the black eyes? Remember the broken nose?_ Bella steeled herself and cautiously pulled the hem of her gown up over her stomach_._

_Oh, my God, I'm going to be sick!_ Bella was shocked when she saw the crimson stained bandages on her mid-riff. She then noticed that she was dressed in a pair of incontinence pants that were blood stained as well. Her pulse rate increased even more. _What the fuck? What happened to me? Where the hell is that bastard Royce? _

Bella had no doubt that whatever the fuck had happened to her, he was involved. Ever since he'd found out that she'd seen a divorce attorney his attitude toward her had turned. His moods gave her whiplash. He would be sweet and adoring one minute then turn on her and use her as a punching bag the next_. _

Bella suddenly became aware that another person was in the room with her. She glanced toward the door as a tall dark haired man passed through the doorway.

"Hello, Mrs. King. I'm Doctor Marcus Grimm."

"Bella. My name is Bella," she answered with a bristly tone. "And the last name is Swan."

"Oh…well, Bella, I'd like to go over a few things with you, if that's okay?" Doctor Grimm said. "First off, I'd like to ask what you remember, if anything. That will give me an idea of how to approach this with you."

"What I remember?" Bella asked, confused.

"Yes, what happened to you caused some major trauma and I need to know what you remember," he answered in a careful tone.

"Well…" Bella took a deep breath to start but then hesitated._How do I say that I'm__married to an asshole that tricked me into a marriage at the age of seventeen then made me become a stripper? The same asshole that would beat me, but carefully enough, so that the bruises didn't show when I didn't make enough money to support us because he was a lazy fuck that didn't want to have to work._

Doctor Grimm leaned in toward Bella. "Come on, you can do this," he encouraged.

Bella hung her head. Too ashamed to look the doctor in the face, she spoke to her lap instead."I was working. Royce, my soon to be ex-husband, was in the club along with three other men. He isn't supposed to be in the club when I'm working. When I went to the table, he told me that he'd ordered me a drink and for me to go get dressed." At that point Bella looked up at the doctor expecting to see disgust on his face at the fact that she was walking around unclothed. She was pleasantly surprised to see that his features held nothing but compassion. "When I came back," she continued. "there was a drink waiting for me. I don't drink that often, and this one was stronger than any I had ever had before." Bella took a deep breath. "I wanted to get some soda added to it, but Royce wouldn't let me. My turn to dance again came up and he made me drink the entire drink before I left. After that, I got on stage and started to dance. I can't tell you what happened after that, other than that I felt like I was on a cloud. I felt free and so uninhibited."

Bella's head hung low against her chest. She just wanted all of this to end and for Doctor Grimm to tell her what had happened so she could go home. Silent tears slipped down her face. She reached up to wipe them away then looked at the doctor.

"Well, Bella," he began. "the evidence points to the fact that you were drugged with Ecstasy, most likely slipped into your drink by your husband."

"Soon to be ex-husband," Bella muttered, the shock of what he'd done washing over her.

"Yes, well…" he continued with caution. "Bella, it appears that you were sexually assaulted."

Bella felt nauseated._Sexually assaulted by whom? Royce? One of the men that was with him?_ Her mind raced. Suddenly she lurched forward, threw up, and then felt darkness fall over her.

"Bella. Bella, wake up. Come on. Wake up, Bella."

She could feel herself being pulled out from under the dark blanket she was covered with in her mind. Bella slowly opened her eyes and saw Doctor Grimm standing next to her bed.

"Bella, you need to breathe," he tried to comfort her. "Are you okay to continue?" He really didn't want to add to her stress, but she needed to know what had happened.

Bella slowly nodded her head.

"All right, but you need to tell me if you need me to stop," he advised her before continuing. "You were sexually assaulted. From the evidence we collected, it appears there was more than one assailant. We recorded three different samples of semen." Doctor Grimm, glanced over Bella's face to try to ascertain her reaction. "There was serious damage done to your reproductive organs." Bella gripped her mid-riff as dread covered her. "You were violated to the point that your uterus was ruptured. We can't tell if any instrument was used in the violation. There were also numerous markings inflicted on your pelvic area. They appear to be some kind of brand, burnt into your skin. One is larger than the rest and as far as well can tell it looks like the letter J.

"The police have been here" he continued "but I wouldn't allow them to question you until I could ascertain your condition. When you feel ready to give a statement let me know and I'll call them back."

Bella felt her stomach roll again. She sat silently. Her mind rolled to thoughts of the future— future that held no promise of the life she had previously wanted. She pictured herself as she sat on the front porch of her house with her first grandchild in her arms. A low keening sound assaulted her ears. Vaguely, she realized that the sound was coming from her.

Bella sat numb as Doctor Grimm continued to explain the injuries that she'd sustained. She had been branded, ripped open, and sodomized. There was evidence that restraints had been used as well. The one thing that snapped her out of her mental hell was when he said that she'd been found dumped in an alley while she slowly bled out. If it hadn't been for a homeless person searching for a meal in the nearby dumpster, she would have died.

"Arrghhhhh!" she cried out and continued to weep, no longer able to stop the steady flow of tears. She knew right then that she needed to leave Houston and never look back.

**Hope that everyone sticks with me. This will end up with a HEA just need to get the rough stuff out of the way first. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hope everyone survived that last chapter. **

**Thanks again to Caz for pre-reading and to Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny for cleaning up my messes! **

RIDING THE RAILS

CHAPTER 12

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride.

Bella's heart pounded against her ribcage. It felt as if it was in a vice from the emotions brought on from the flashback. As she lay in her bed, she took a deep breath, followed by another and then another until she calmed herself down. She tried to remember what the therapist she'd been assigned to during her recovery had told her to do when this happened.

"_When you feel yourself losing control, grab hold of yourself and breathe. Count your breaths. Feel your pulse and control it. You control your emotions; they shouldn't control you. Let the memories out, get them out of you. Only then will you truly heal. If you keep them bottled up, they will fester in you and ruin your self-assurance."_

_Ok__ay__, Swan, get a hold of yourself, _she thought. _It's only a memory. You don't live that life anymore. You're better than that. Bella King is dead. __Royce__ doesn't know where you are. He'll never hurt you again. _She silently repeated her mantra over and over, enabling her to break free of the horrible nightmare of the memory.

Bella looked over to the clock on the bedside table and noted that it was 7AM. She thought of all the things she wanted to do while she was on vacation for the week. First she had to get her ass out of bed. With a deep sigh, she pushed the bedding off of her and strode into the en-suite.

One look in the mirror showed it all. The results of the nightmare were evident in her eyes and on her face. She turned the water in the shower to the hottest setting she could tolerate then stepped in once it was ready. The hot water washed off not only the dream-induced sweat that coated her body but also the memory of her nightmare down the drain. _Oh, if it was only that simple to wash all of my troubles away,_ she thought. She knew she would need to face many more of them before she was free of her past all together.

Thoroughly clean now, physically and emotionally for the time being, Bella stepped out of the shower and dried off. She refused to look at the reflection of her body in the mirror. She couldn't look at the marks on her abdomen today. Doctor Grimm had recommended a plastic surgeon to her, but she'd never followed through with it. _It will always remind me to be wary and not to trust anyone but myself,_ she'd told herself for so long. Now, though, she felt differently. The scars were just another reminder of the power Royce King had once had over her, a power that she would no longer allow him and those awful memories to have. At that moment, Bella mentally added one more thing to her list for her vacation week: Contact a plastic surgeon. _It's time to start healing myself further. I won't continue to live like this._

Bella went to her walk-in closet and pulled on a pair of black boy short-style panties and a black lace bra. _Beautiful foundations make for a beautiful structure,_ she told herself. She pulled on a pair of skinny jeans and a button-up, dark green silk blouse. She finished with pair of tan knee-high boots, the legs of the jeans tucked inside.

Following a quick breakfast of toast and juice, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door. After running a few errands, Bella decided to treat herself to a movie. It had been a while since she'd seen one in the theater.

The theater near her house had a matinee show at 11 AM of _Water for Elephants_. Her favorite actor, Robert Pattinson, was the lead and she was eager to see him on the big screen. Debbie, one of Bella's good friends who lives in Seattle, had asked her to go to New York with her and a few other friends to attend the movie's premiere, but unfortunately that had been while she was with Jake, and he couldn't stand anything having to do with Robert Pattinson. Every time he would catch Bella surfing the web for an update on him, or watching a movie he was in, he would throw a fit. "_Why do you watch this shit with this lame-ass British actor? _he would rant_. _She would push back and tell him it was because he presented himself as a decent fellow that had feelings and seemed genuine.

After Bella left the theater in a giddy mood with thoughts of the handsome actor running through her head—_Oh, my God, he was so hot in that movie…and that love scene , Lord help me!—_she went to a few stores to pick up some things that were on her list. Bella had planned to put together a welcome basket for her new tenant. She wanted to make sure that she felt welcomed and comfortable in the unit. Bella had decided to open herself up to the prospect of someone new in her life. Mrs. Cope's words from last week came back to her on how she thought Ms. Cullen and Bella would become friends.

After being trapped in her fucked up life with Royce, then being screwed over by Jake, two separate people that she'd thought she once loved, she had hopes that her luck would change and someone good would enter her life. Maybe this would be the catalyst for it.

As Bella headed back home, she planned out a few excursions for the coming week. She had heard of a clothing boutique in Galena that she wanted to go to. The weather was supposed to be pleasant and the drive north was always nice. She also started to plan a cookout for the next weekend. The pool was open and it should be warmed up by then. It would also be a great way to break the ice with Ms. Cullen. _Damn, I never got her first name. _She quickly put a call in to Mrs. Cope to ask what her tenant's first name was, as she hadn't had an opportunity to review the lease paperwork yet, but she had to leave a message. Mrs. Cope was out of the office.

/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/

The next couple of days passed quickly for Bella. She started her spring cleaning on Sunday in her house and then completed it on Monday in the rental unit. She wanted to make sure everything was in order, even though she had just moved out of the unit a few weeks earlier.

When she returned to the duplex on Tuesday after running some errands, she noted that there was a portable storage unit in the driveway. _So that's what those look like. Man, I could have used one of those when I moved out of Jake's place. _She had taken a few pieces of the furniture that they had bought together: the couch that was in her favorite color of blue and the coffee table that reminded her of the one her parents had. She'd also taken the rocking chair that one of her customers at the bar she'd worked at in Houston made for her. That was the only thing from that time in her life that she'd kept. There was no way in hell that she would have taken the bedroom set that she'd shared with Jake. _He can keep his fucking scene of the crime skank pad. _

The night that she'd kicked him out—yes, she had kicked him out of his own place—she couldn't even _think_ of sleeping in that bed. She had slept on the couch until she'd found the duplex and moved in. She had immediately ordered a new bedroom set and had it delivered. It was nothing like the one she'd shared with _him_.

The new bedroom suite was made out of mahogany. The headboard of the king-sized bed was adorned with intricately carved roses throughout. Placed against the pale peach wall of her bedroom, it looked fantastic. The color showed through the carvings beautifully. The bedside tables contained three drawers each, one of which was filled with all of her "special toys". There was also a highboy and a six-drawer dresser, not that she would ever need all of that drawer space, but it was nice to have it.

Later that evening, Bella decided to get a little more cardio in for the day. She changed into some shorts and a tank top and headed to her "studio". She had converted one of the bedrooms that looked out onto the backyard into a dance studio. One wall was entirely covered with mirrors, and a ballet barre ran the length of it. Situated in the center of the room was a vertical pole that she had had specially installed. The pole was secured to the ceiling as well as the floor making it incredibly stable.

The room was also fitted with an incredible sound system, and an iPod docking station sat on a little table in the corner of the room. Bella turned on her iPod and began her warm up, stretching her muscles thoroughly before moving on to the more energetic part of her routine. She quickly became lost in the music, pouring her body and soul into the sensual song that poured from the speakers. Consumed as she was by the pulsing rhythm, Bella never saw the person watching her through the curtains.

**Uh oh! Who could be peeking in on her private time? Who's watching her dance as she used to? **


	13. Chapter 13

**Hopefully everyone survived the last few chapters. I know that they were rough to read, hell they were rough to write! Stick with me, they're going to get together soon! Thanks again to the wonderful Beta jobs performed by Caz, Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny. They take my scrambled words and change them to make sense! **

RIDING THE RAILS

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I'm just taking them for a ride.

Chapter 13

Voyeurism

Edward sat at his desk in the modest office he occupied off Michigan Avenue. He'd started working at Jackson Advertising Agency two years ago, and at the time he'd been twenty-five years old, self-assured, and eager to make his mark in the world. Unlike most account directors in the business, he preferred to work with the "Little Man" accounts, the mom and pop shops in the local area. It had taken him some time to convince Mr. Jackson to pursue that level of clientele, but it had paid off.

Edward remembered that day, three weeks ago, when he'd had the meeting with Mr. Peter Jackson, founder of the agency. The previous Friday Edward had gone to the local bakery that he frequented, wanting to pick up a few of the Danish pastries that were always a hit at his family's Sunday brunch. When he'd approached the bakery he'd noticed a _"Going Out of Business"_ sign hanging in the window.

Mr. and Mrs. Moore, the middle-aged couple who owned _Moore than Danish Bakery_, told him that with all of the big company franchises moving into the area that the competition was too much. They were losing money trying to keep up with the trend of serving lattes or espressos with scones in a lounge-style atmosphere, replete with magazines and free Wi-Fi. Two weeks later, the little bakery had closed down, becoming just another empty storefront in the middle of downtown America.

Edward had been saddened to see yet another small, family run store go out of business. He believed passionately in supporting local businesses, and he was sick and tired of seeing them forced out of business by faceless franchises. He decided then and there to see what he could do to help the "little man". A week later, Edward sat in his boss' office and made his pitch.

"_Mr. Jackson, those types of businesses are the backbone of our nation," Edward stated passionately.__ "__I believe in supporting the local businessman by purchasing from them whenever possible. Why shouldn't we want to also support them in making them well known, helping them to draw in more customers and thus keeping them in business?"__He waited with bated breath while Mr. Jackson read over his proposal__._

_The wait for his boss' decision was agonizing, but his anxiety was soon put to rest. "Fine idea,"__he heard Mr. Jackson say. "Get me information on some of the accounts you want to handle—but remember, we still need to support the larger accounts as well."__Edward quickly thanked him, and he left the office filled with a sense of pride at having done the right thing and the determination to make his plan a success._

Edward shook his head clear of the memory and focused on the dilemma before him. He was faced with a difficult decision. Sitting forward, with his head in his hands, he stared down at the file folder that lay open in front of him.

A local eatery had decided that they wanted to become a franchise. The owner of _Frantastic Fish_, a popular seafood restaurant, had been approached by one of his cousins, who happened to be an entrepreneur. The cousin had convinced the business owner that they could make "tons of money" if he would allow him to back the franchise. While Edward was never one to hold back the little guy, he was concerned about the effect this could have on his other clients' businesses. He also didn't want to jeopardize his position at the agency. _Shit, I guess I'll be working on putting other small restaurants out of business by promoting this _currently _small restaurant into a new franchise_, he mused. His troubled thoughts were interrupted when his desk phone rang.

"Edward Masen speaking,_"_ he answered.

"Hello, dear cousin," he heard Alice chirp through the receiver. "How're you doing?" she asked.

Edward let out a huff. "Fine, I guess. Just trying to work through a little problem I've been handed." He glared down at the file folder, willing his stare to turn into a laser beam.

"Could I ask you for a favor?" she asked quickly.

"_Another_ favor, Alice?" he teased, glad that she'd called. Speaking with her always improved his mood, and it got his mind off of the problem at hand. "Gee, I've given you a place to live, let you drive my car, and helped you pack to move. Wouldn't you think that's enough favors?"

"Hah, Edward!" She laughed. "You know you're going to miss me when I move out." Actually, it was Alice who felt that she was the one who was going to miss the constant company. She had only lived with him for a few months, but having someone around was comforting.

"Okay, Pixie, you've got me there. I'll definitely miss you. It's been nice having you around cooking, cleaning, and waiting on me hand and foot. " Edward waited for her reaction. _Three, two, one_—

"Waiting on you hand and foot, my ass!" she screamed into the phone.

He chuckled. "Sorry, Alice! What did you need help with now?" He could never deny her assistance with anything.

"I wanted to go by my new place and put some things in the garage, but I think I left them in your trunk. Do you mind dropping them by there?" Alice asked.

"Are you sure they'll be safe there? I don't want you to lose anything special." He hated to think that any of the family's heirlooms would be lost.

"I've been assured that the garage is secure, and it's not like the items in your trunk are _that_ valuable. They're just some things that I'm going to need when I first move in. I'd really appreciate it."

"No problem, just give me the address and the garage code. I'll run over there when I get back to the station."

Later that day, Edward sat in his car in front of what he couldn't quite believe was Alice's new residence. He looked at the sheet of paper in his hand then gazed out the windshield at the house. _Yep, the numbers match, and there's a portable storage unit in the driveway. This must be the place._ Alice had told him that her rent would be eight hundred per month, so he was pleasantly surprised to see the condition of the property.

The landscaping was immaculate. There were lavender hedge roses growing under the large front window, and on the right side of the front yard there was a decent-sized raised garden. A large red maple tree stood proudly in the center of the garden, surrounded by other fragrant plants and small statues.

Edward exited the Volvo and retrieved the packages from the trunk. He keyed in the passcode that Alice had given him earlier and entered the garage. "Wow!" he exclaimed. The first thing that caught his eye was the terra cotta tiled floor. He then saw the built-in shelves and cabinets and was completely taken with the finished ceiling complete with recessed lighting.

_Holy shit! If the garage is this good, I wonder what the rest of the house looks like,_ he thought. On a whim, Edward decided to test the door between the garage and the house. _Yep, it's open._ He let himself in, knowing that Alice would be disappointed that he was about to ruin her chance at giving him the "official" tour but wanting to at least take a quick look around.

Edward stepped through a service door, which connected the garage to the interior of the house, and entered a decent-sized room. He turned on the light and immediately recognized the area as a laundry room complete with cabinets and a large folding table, across from which a washer and dryer would sit.

He continued further into the house and entered the kitchen area. He looked through the patio door and saw the backyard. Stepping outside, he was thoroughly impressed with the in-ground swimming pool. Suddenly he heard music coming from the other unit, and he turned to follow the sound. He approached a sliding door that looked into a room in the unit next door. As he slid it open a bit, he peered inside and saw something that would become a recurring dream for him. He watched a woman at the far end of the room dancing to a pulsating rhythm. Although he couldn't see her face clearly, he was mesmerized by the beauty before him. Standing rooted to the spot, he felt himself harden as she finished dancing to one of his favorite songs, _Pour Some Sugar on Me_ by Def Leppard.

_Supermassive Black Hole_ by Muse came on next, and Edward stared transfixed as the woman moved her lithe body to the beat. She was definitely a great dancer, and she utilized the pole in the middle of the room expertly, sliding her body up and down its length. During the refrain of the song, she executed a move that just about sent him over the edge and made him want to close the gap between them. Squatting down, with the pole between her legs, she closed and then opened her legs before lifting herself up ass first to spin around the pole in synchronization with the music.

Edward was by no means unfamiliar when it came to strippers and pole dancing; he'd spent his fair share of time in strip clubs with friends. He wondered if Alice's new landlord was someone he had seen at one of the clubs that he'd been to in Chicago. He held no judgment against the woman. _We all use our talent to better ourselves.__ If she wanted to be a dancer/stripper, then more power to her._ _She should be proud of her body, and it was her choice if she wanted to show it off._

This last thought made Edward feel sleazy for watching her without her knowledge. He suddenly felt like a Peeping Tom. Before the woman had a chance to see him, he slipped silently back into Alice's unit and, after making his way out through the garage, headed home.

Edward had a very difficult time getting the vision of the dancing woman out of his head. When he got home he went straight to his bedroom, stripped out of his clothes, and headed to his en-suite. Turning the shower on to as hot as could stand it, he stepped in. He brought to mind the image of the woman dancing and imagined Bella's face while he gripped his throbbing cock. He stroked himself firmly as erotic images and the sounds of the songs from earlier played through his mind. He pictured himself between Bella's legs, licking the juices from her pussy to the Def Leppard song. He pressed his hand firmly against the wall to support himself and gasped, throwing his head back in ecstasy as he felt his release explode against the shower's tiles. The orgasm was stronger than any he had ever experienced before.

He decided then and there that he had to find a way to officially meet and hopefully get a date with Bella. There was just something about her that haunted his thoughts.

**A/N – I've become a big supporter of "shop local". There are a number of small mom and pop stores in the community we live in that have had to close their doors after 50 years of being in business. I buy gift certificates from local businesses such as reputable massage parlors (did you catch the reputable part!) and restaurants. That helps to ensure that revenue is kept in the area. **


	14. Chapter 14

Happy Friday to all. Hope everyone is hanging in there. We've got a few more rides to go and then they'll meet up.

Thanks again to my wonderful gals for keeping me in line, Caz, Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny!

Riding the Rails

Chapter 14

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I'm just taking the characters for a ride.**

A tingling sensation washed over Bella just as she thought she heard the garage door roll down to close. She quickly made her way to the front of the house and looked outside. All she saw were the taillights of a car as it made its way down the street. She knew that Mrs. Cope had given the unit key to the tenant, so it could have been her, and thought nothing more of it.

Bella went through the house to inspect all of the windows and doors to ensure that they were locked and covered then proceeded to the en-suite in her bedroom to shower. As she stepped under the warm comfort of the rainfall showerhead, her thoughts turned to Edward. The tingling sensation she'd experienced earlier had forced him into her mind. She had noticed the few times that when he was nearby there was a near electrical humming that ran through her body. She worked her favorite body wash into a lather and then slowly and sensually rubbed it down her torso. Thoughts of it being his hands washing her made her moan and her breath hitch. She slipped her hand between her wet thighs and stroked her slit from back to front a few times, imagining it was Edward's long fingers teasing her tender flesh, before concentrating on slowly circling her clit.

With her other hand she rubbed the body wash onto her breasts, swirling the soap around her nipples and then squeezing each one in turn. She built up a rhythm that made her gasp and shudder. Unable to take anymore, she suddenly shoved two of her fingers inside her pussy and thumbed her clit, pinching and pulling on her right nipple at the same time. Curling her fingers deep inside her, she found that perfect spot and massaged it roughly before exploding to visions of Edward's hands pleasuring her.

The force of her orgasm left Bella shaking, her legs barely able to support her, and she leaned against the wall of the shower for support. _Unghh. That's never happened before!_ She had, of course, masturbated and used her little drawer of secrets in the past, but she had never climaxed so hard before in her life.

After her shower, Bella returned to the studio for some last minute cleaning. When she started to pull the drapes closed, she noticed that there appeared to be a handprint, one that obviously belonged to a man by the appearance of it, on the sliding glass door that led in from the backyard. Even though it was possible that it was nothing, a small feeling of paranoia overtook her.

With the new tenant moving in, Bella had already contemplated getting additional security. She could imagine Jasper saying, _"__I know a guy that works for a company that installs security systems for the government. Let me call him for you."_

Bella poured herself a glass of chardonnay, mentally prepared herself, and then made the call.

"Hey, Jazz, how you doing?" she asked. She didn't want to jump directly into the dreaded topic.

"I'm good, babe. Emmett and I are playing Mario Kart. Want to come join us?" he asked.

"Fucker!" she heard Emmett yell in the background. "That was so cruel tossing those ink spots on me." Bella giggled. Those two _men_ could be such children at times.

"That's what you get for knocking me into the wall, you big douche!" Jasper yelled back.

"Hey!" Bella yelled into the receiver to gain Jasper's attention again. "Is this a bad time? Should I call back?"

"No, Bells, right now's fine. I just beat Emmett's ass. Let me go into the kitchen so I can hear you better…So to what do I owe this pleasure, ma'am?"he drawled out with the fakest Southern accent ever.

"Well," she started hesitantly, "I wanted to ask you about that guy you know… Actually, um, you know what? Never mind, it's probably nothing. Don't worry about it. Go back to your game."

"Bells, are you sure you're okay? You sound tense."

"Me? Yeah, of course, it's just… No, forget it. Forget I said anything. It's fine."

"Bells, talk to me!_"_ Jasper pleaded. He could sense even through the phone that she was troubled. _"_Do I need to come over there to get it out of you?"

"Oh, God, Jasper, could you?" She shocked herself with her request. "I—I," she stuttered, "I think something happened, and I need to put my mind at ease. If you would come over, I could tell you about it, and then maybe you'll see that I'm completely off my rocker and tell me so."

"I'll be there in ten minutes. And don't worry, I already know you're off your rocker,_"_ he teased before hanging up.

True to his word, ten minutes later Jasper rang her doorbell. The only surprise was that it wasn't only Jasper who stood in her doorway. Emmett, ever the big brother, picked her up in a bone-crushing hug and pushed his way inside. He set her down inside the foyer and then looked around.

"Okay, whose ass do I need to kick and how many are there?" he said as he looked around the house.

"Em, calm down," Bella soothed as she placed a hand on his forearm. "There's no one here at the moment."

"What do you mean _at the moment,_" he asked as he turned toward her. "Was someone bothering you earlier?" His protective side was kicking in.

"No," she answered in a calm tone. She didn't need Emmett and Jasper to go ballistic when she told them what had happened.

Bella walked into the living room, and Jasper and Emmett followed behind her. She sat on the couch and wrung her hands together nervously.

"Bella, talk to me, honey. I can't stand the thought of you hurting again," Jasper said in a pained voice.

"I know it's silly, but I had the feeling that someone was watching me tonight. I was in my studio dancing when all of a sudden I got the sense that someone was here. When I finished, I heard a noise that sounded like the garage door shutting, and when I went to look I saw a car pull away. And then after my shower I noticed a handprint on the sliding glass door while I was cleaning."

"What kind of car? Could you tell?" Jasper asked.

"I'm not sure. It was around twilight, so it was hard to discern the make of the car. The only thing I can say is that the tail lights continued from the back of the car over the sides of the rear quarter panel."

"Did you see the color of the car?" Emmett asked.

"No, the car was too far away by the time I got to the front of the house. Maybe it's no big deal. It could have possibly been someone who just happened to be driving by." She suddenly felt foolish for calling them over. This could be a waste of not only her time but theirs too.

"Honey, this isn't something to mess around with," Jasper said. "I'm going to go take a look around to see if there's anything to find." He walked into the kitchen and exited through the door that led to the backyard.

"Sis," Emmett said, interrupting her thoughts, "is there anything you want to tell me?" He hoped that given that opening she would finally tell him what had happened to her years ago. "Can you think of any reason that someone would be in your back yard?" He took her by the hand and led her to the couch.

Emmett watched Bella for a reaction to his question. She looked to be in deep thought as she chewed on her thumbnail. He remembered that she would do that often when she first moved here but had stopped the habit a few months ago. It felt like there was a slight charge in the air stemming from her nervousness. It was nothing like it had been when she first moved to the area, though. Back then she would literally jump at every loud noise or quick movement around her, especially if made by men.

At the moment, she gave the impression that it was an everyday occurrence to possibly have a stranger peer into her house while she danced. He was confused about how to act with her. He wasn't sure if he should be the usual hardcore big brother or a supportive shoulder to lean on.

Bella turned to look at Emmett, the calm expression on her face contradictory to the nervousness she felt. She loved that he was so protective of her. If only she had searched him out earlier during the rougher times of her life. "No, Em, I can't think of any reason why someone would be here or anything that would even come close to explain what happened tonight. I already told you everything I know."

"Okay, Bella." He decided not to push for answers. He knew that in time she would open up to him.

Bella and Emmett heard Jasper slide open the patio door. He had a worried look on his face as he stepped into the living room,

"What is it, Jasper?" Bella asked. She had seen that look on his face once before and was surprised that it wasn't accompanied by a growl.

"Well, there was definitely someone in your backyard recently," he began. He looked over and saw Bella shudder. _Now, how to proceed with this without freaking her out completely,_ he thought.

He proceeded to tell her and Emmett both that he had found a footprint in the flowerbed that was next to the studio door. "It was definitely a man's footprint, Bella. Looked to be about a size twelve, and it appeared to be made by something other than an athletic shoe kind of dress shoe, as there was a definite heel mark. Either an Oxford or may have been a boot." He continued to gauge her reaction to his discovery.

Bella gave out a small gasp, and her eyes widened and took on a panicked look. "What size shoe again, Jasper?" she asked. Her chest rose and fell with the controlled breaths she took.

"I think a twelve…" He stole a furtive glance in Emmett's direction. "Why?"

"Oh, shit, shit, shit!" she started to chant as she rocked back and forth. "No, he couldn't be here…it's not possible," she continued to ramble. "There's no way he could know where I am. I made sure no one knew where I was going!"

"Bella, what's going on? Is it that asshole Royce you're worried about?" Emmett was determined that if it _was_ him that had been here, he would do everything in his power to end the fucker.

"I'm…um…I'm not sure," Bella answered. "Oh, God!" she moaned before collapsing to the floor. The thought of having to possibly face the nightmare of her life weighed on her heavily.

"_Bella. Bella, wake up hon." _

She could feel a light tapping on her cheek, and the uncomfortable pressure of the hard floor broke through the fog in her brain.

Bella opened her eyes. The sight of two male figures hovering over her caused her to panic as she was thrown into a sudden flashback. She started to scream and thrash about. Two pairs of strong hands gripped her arms, although lightly, and held her down. That threw her into a more violent fit. She tried to turn her head to bite the hand that was pressed into one of her shoulders. She screamed at them to let her go while she tried to bend her knees and position her feet firmly beneath her to push away from the men holding her down.

Suddenly, the familiar scent of Jasper's cologne, which had always brought her a sense of calmness, wafted over her. She then felt the tender strength of Emmett's arms as he bundled her into his lap and his hand as he stroked her cheek. She could faintly hear him whispering comforting words to her.

"Dear God, what happened to her? Why won't she tell me what happened?" Emmett sobbed. "If I _ever_ see that bastard Royce, I swear to God I will tear him limb from limb after I make him explain why my baby sister is like this."

After a few moments, Bella's breathing slowed and her heart quit pounding against her ribcage. She quickly threw her arms around Emmett's neck and sobbed loudly. His arms locked around her waist as he rocked her side to side. "Shush, baby girl, it's okay, I'm here," he whispered into her ear. He pulled her tighter into his chest and continued to hold and rock her. "I've got you. No one else is going to hurt you," he said with conviction.

Emmett recalled the song that their mother used to sing to Bella when she was a child, when she would get upset. He didn't even give a thought to Jasper's presence before he started singing the familiar words of the lullaby.

_Hush little baby don't say a word._

_Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird_

_If that mockingbird won't sing_

_Momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring…_

He took a moment to glance down at her trembling form and continued.

_And if that diamond ring turns brass_

_Momma's gonna buy you a looking glass_

_And if that looking glass gets broke…_

He could feel the tremors subsiding and heard a deep sigh escape her.

_Momma's gonna buy you a billy goat_

_And if that billy goat won't pull_

_Momma's gonna buy you a cart and bull_

_And if that cart and bull fall down_

_You'll still be the sweetest baby in town_

Emmett pulled her in as close as he could and breathed in the scent of his favorite person in the world other than his Rose.

After a few minutes, he pulled back and looked down at her face. She appeared to be asleep until she opened her eyes and looked up into his with a haunted expression.

"Bells, you've _got_ to tell me what that fucker Royce did to you," he quietly demanded.

"I'm okay," she said with a sniff. "It was just a knee jerk reaction to all that has happened today." Bella She was tryingtried to deflect his attention away from her previous freak-out. She knew that he would not give up as easy this time. Eventually she would have to tell him what had happened that caused her to leave Houston and suddenly change her life.

She knew that she was probably over reacting to the comment about the shoe size. _There _is _more than one person who wears a size twelve shoe Bella _she told herself.

Emmett helped her to her feet and led her into the kitchen with Jasper following closely behind them. Jasper shot an understanding look to Emmett, which conveyed that he understood everything that had transpired earlier. Had it been his own sister to freak out he would have wanted to hunt the responsible bastard down for her pain immediately.

Emmett handed Bella a glass of water. She took a few sips and seemed calm enough that he felt he could finally ask her some questions. The three of them sat down at the kitchen table the air thick with tension around them.

"I hate to do this to you, Bells, but I'm not going to let this continue any longer." Emmett took a deep breath. "Hate me if you must, but I insist you tell me just _what the fuck_ happened to you." His tone shifted with each word, his patience at an end.

Bella took a deep breath and looked from Emmett to Jasper. The time had come to let them know her pain. How to begin was the problem.

"Emmett," Bella reached over to grab his hand, "Jasper," she said as she reached for his as well, "I love you both, and I don't know how to tell you this." She took a deep breath. "I'm not the innocent person you've always thought I am. I've never told you what happened after I married Royce…"


	15. Chapter 15

Want to once again thank my wonderful Beta's and pre-readers.

Caz, Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny. This is my first story and I had no clue what I was doing.

RTR CHAPTER 15

WE'RE GOOD

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight; I'm just taking them for a ride.

"_Emmett," Bella reached over to grab his hand, "Jasper," she said as she reached for his as well, "I love you both, and I don't know how to tell you this." She took a deep breath. "I'm not the innocent person you've always thought I am. I've never told you what happened after I married Royce…"_

Bella felt that she had never spoken truer words. She closed her eyes as she collected her thoughts. _Where to begin?_ How was she supposed to tell her brother and best friend that she had been forced to strip dance in order to support the asshole she had been married to—the same asshole that Emmett, after the one and only time that he had met him, told her he didn't trust? The same asshole that would beat her, giving her black eyes and fractures. And worst of all, the same asshole that had been responsible for her almost dying.

"Bella…" Emmett's voice interrupted her internal turmoil. When she looked over at him she could see the concern and fear etched deeply on his face.

"Come on, Bella, you're scaring us here," Jasper said with an anxious look on his face.

A small sob escaped her before she could contain it. "I'm sorry," she began, "I should have listened to you, Emmett. You were right about Royce. I've never lived through a more horrible time in all my life."

With a trembling voice she started her story. The next two hours were spent with Bella giving a recount of what had happened after Royce trapped her in hell: the beatings she endured, the dancing, and the loss of dignity that she felt. She was hesitant to continue, as she knew the worst was still to come.

She glanced between the two men in front of her as she contemplated how to share the hardest part of her story. Bella was positive that if any of the men that had assaulted her were within a hundred mile radius, they would be sought out and destroyed.

During her recounting, she noted that Emmett kept clenching and unclenching his fists. Jasper's jaw tightened and he pressed his fisted hands together repeatedly, cracking his knuckles.

"I swear to God, if I ever see that man, I will rip him apart and burn the pieces," Emmett growled.

"I'll be right there with you, man," Jasper replied with a feral look on his face. If Bella had not known what a kind man he truly was, she would have been frightened by the sight.

"Bella," Emmett said as he turned to her. He took her hand and squeezed it before lifting her face up to him. "Why didn't you call me? When it all started, you could have called. I would have come down there and taken you away. You didn't have to endure all of that, for all that time."

"I don't know, Emmett…" she answered. "I was ashamed. I had let him dominate me and treat me like a piece of property instead of a person." She sure as hell didn't want to tell him that Royce had initially planned on _trading_ her off for another man's woman. That would mean additional humiliation.

"Did they get the fuckers?" Jasper asked. The tone in his voice made a shiver run down her spine. "You gave their descriptions to the cops, right?"

"Yes," Bella said with a sigh. "Two of the men, Oscar and Curt, were tracked to a hotel room across town a few days after I woke up." She was suddenly overcome with a shudder. "They had an eighteen year old girl in the room. From what I heard, it wasn't a pretty sight. Hopefully she was able to get the right kind of therapy to recover fully."

"Royce," Bella paused as a fierce tremor shook her, "and the other one—James—have never been found. They're still on the lam, as far as I know. I'll never rest easy knowing that they're still around." She closed her eyes and put her head in her hands. She heard a low keening noise, and she realized it was coming from her. Strong, warm arms wrapped around her and pulled her in to a firm, supportive chest. When she looked up, she saw the tenseness in Jasper's jaw. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Bella, we're here for you. I promise that we won't let anything happen to you." Jasper continued to tell her that whatever had happened in the past didn't make a difference in the respect that he had for her. He told her she was a wonderful woman and friend, and that nothing would change how he felt about her.

She continued her story of how she had spent weeks in the hospital recovering. The only person who came to see her during that time was a man named Hunter Davidson. Their relationship had started a year before her attack. She told Emmett that she couldn't help but immediately notice him when he had walked into the club.

_Hunter seemed to command the room with one look. He had a tall, muscular frame, piercing blue eyes, and black wavy hair that she had an irresistible desire to touch. She quickly approached his table, eager to be there before any other dancer could steal his attention. She had never felt such an attraction to anyone. _

_After a few weeks of Hunter coming specifically to see her while she worked, they started to see each other outside of the club. He took her to see a stage performance of the _Phantom of The Opera_. It had always been one of her favorite shows. _

_There were also a couple of weekend excursions as well as .__ He was also the one responsible for the wonderful rocker that currently sat in her living room. __Bella and Hunter were able to take advantage of the times when Royce and his friends would disappear for days. She had no idea what Royce and his friends would get up to, and she truthfully didn't want to know. _

_And h__He was also the one responsible for the wonderful rocker that currently sat in her living room. That had been a tricky situation. She told Royce that she saw it at an Amish shop and fell in love with it immediately. _

_Bella knew that if Royce had ever found out that she was seeing someone, he would not only end them but her as well. That was one of the reasons she was so nervous when he showed up at the club that horrible night. _

_Bella had once told Hunter about the abuse and humiliation she was subjected to on a regular basis. His fury was unmatched. They'd made plans to leave the area in the next couple of days to get away from town __and from Royce. _

_Unfortunately, the time to run away had been robbed from them. After the doctor left her, Bella lay in the hospital bed recovering. She had no idea of who to call. There was no one else she wanted to have by her side in that time of pain and suffering she was experiencing. Hunter's number was immediately dialed once there was an opportunity to use the phone. _

"_Hello?" she heard the hesitancy in the voice that answered the phone. _

"_Hunter," she breathed. "It's Bella." _

"_Bella, dear God!" Hunter sighed. "Where have you been? When I saw you leave the club that night with_ him, _I didn't know what to do. I went back to the club a couple of days later, and__they said that you hadn't returned. I couldn't reach you, and your phone went straight to voice mail. I've been going crazy trying to find you." His voice rose in desperation with each sentence. "I couldn't get any information out of any of the girls that work there. I felt so lost," he sobbed out_.

"_Hunter, I need you." She couldn't tell him what had happened to her over the phone. There was so much to say, and she had to see his face when she told him. "I'm at Bay Shore Memorial Hospital, room 512. Can you please come to me?" Her voice broke at the end of her request. _

"_I'll be there immediately," he assured her before hanging up. _

_Thirty minutes later, he appeared in the doorway to her room. The look of pity on his face pulled at her heart yet she could see his knuckles turning white from the sheer pressure he was using to squeeze the doorframe. She knew that the injuries she had sustained were evident. She was still connected to an I.V. for pain and antibiotics_.

"_Bella? What the hell happened to you? What the fuck did he do?" he demanded after recovering from his shocked state. He released the death grip he had on the doorframe and walked further into the room, all the while perusing her physical state. "I won't ask how you are because it's obvious you're not_ fine." _He took a seat in the chair next to her bed and reached for her hand. Once he had her hand in his, he leaned over and kissed her knuckles. _

"_Bella," he sighed, "I don't care what it takes, I'm getting you away from that bastard." _

"_Hunter," she said, not sure how she should start this conversation, "I don't know where to start with this." Bella's chin lowered to her chest. She had to share the torture that she had endured. Hopefully the love that he professed to have for her would be enough for them to override what had__happened._

"_Hey, babe," he said as he lightly grasped her chin and lifted it, "look at me. Whatever has happened, we'll get through it together." He placed a light kiss on her forehead, sighed, and then leaned back to look her in the eye. _

_Bella took a deep breath __and started her story. As she told him what had happened, she wasn't sure if he would stay around or run for the hills. She watched as his facial expressions changed from shock to repulsion to the final look that made her the most nervous: absolute fury__. _

_She told him what she could remember. She had been missing for over a week, which was one of the hardest things to address. She knew that there was no way that she could or would tell him— or anyone— of the things she remembered that had occurred during her captivity. __There were some things she knew she would never be able to share with him or anyone else. With some of the horrid treatment she had endured, the humiliation would be too great. _

_The reports read that she had disappeared on a Thursday but had not been found until over a week later; the second Saturday, as a matter of fact. A homeless woman had found her naked and unconscious next to a dumpster in an alleyway. The fact that she had been dumped like trash made her skin crawl. _

_Hunter visited her every day during her stay at the hospital. Earlier during her recovery, he went to her house when he was certain that Royce was gone to collect some of the personal belongings that she desired to keep, one of which was the rocking chair that he had made for her. _

"_Bella, I've gotten as much out of your house that I could on my own," he told her one day during one of their visits. He seemed a little anxious. "It's in a storage unit on Westheimer. I've put your name on the lease as well, just in case anything happens." He gave her the address and the digital code to the lock_.

"_What do you mean in case anything happens_, _Hunter?" she asked, the nervousness evident in her voice. "We're going to be together once I get out of here," she said with conviction. _

_That evening, they discussed their plan to leave the area as soon as possible. The doctor told her that her injuries were healing rapidly, and he didn't think she would be there much longer. _

_The following week, Hunter picked her up from the hospital. One week later, they left for Hunter's hometown of Wichita Falls, a quiet town located in the Texas Panhandle. They were going to stay there for a time, then move up to Chicago. Three weeks later, Hunter received a call from his attorney and was called back to Houston. He never returned. Bella continued to try to reach him, but to no avail. Her nervousness over his disappearance grew each day. She knew_ _there was no way that she could return to Houston, but she also knew that he wouldn't abandon her. Someone had to know what happened to him. She stayed at Hunter's house and would wait as long as she could before she made any plans to move on. _

_Three months later, a visitor came to the house. The gentleman introduced himself as Hunter's attorney, and he advised her that Hunter Davidson had been found dead in a hotel room. There was foul play suspected, but no suspects or motive had been determined that they could elaborate on. She could not grasp the fact that he was gone. _No. No. NO._ They were to start their lives together. He couldn't be gone. Would she never be able to have true love? _

_He handed her a folder that had a copy of the police report and a letter that Hunter had written, along with his will. It would seem that he had named her the beneficiary of his estate. _

Dear Bella,

If you are reading this letter, then the worst has happened to me, my love. I am so sorry that I have let you down.

I received information on the location of the bastard that almost took your life, and I wanted to end your constant suffering and worry about him finding us. I plan on marrying you. I want us to be together as a family, my beloved. The fact that we are not able to bring children into the world does not matter to me. There are plenty of children that need adoption, and I'm sure that you would love them unconditionally whether you were able to bear them or not.

I hope that I am able to return to you and that this letter never makes its way to you, but in the event that it does, please know that I love you. I have loved you since the moment I saw you. You are, and always shall be, my beloved one.

Love,

Hunter

_Bella read the letter with blurred vision. _He can't be gone_. At the bottom of the letter was the following postscript; it was the same simple message that was stated in his will: _

In the event of my death, I bequeath all of my belongings and estate to Isabella Marie Swan. Though we are not of relation, this is my request, as she is my intended.

_Days later, Bella finally came to the realization that he was truly gone. It was a nightmare that she could not wake from.__ She would never feel the strength of his arms surrounding her again. _

_With the last bit of courage she had, she knew that she would need to leave the area. If Royce had gotten to Hunter, he could possibly track her down as well. She decided right then and there that she needed help, and the best help she knew was in the form of her brother. With that in mind, she picked up the phone and called Chicago. She'd be moving on again. _

_A/N_

Unfortunately, there will most likely be a delay in postings for about a week as my mother in law passed this past month and we are having the memorial service this month. I will catch up after that.


	16. Chapter 16

Riding the Rails

Chapter 16

'WHAT'S MISSING'

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight; I'm just taking them for a ride.

**Thanks again to my wonder Beta's Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny.**

Edward stood on the platform as he waited for the commuter train. He was still plagued with thoughts of the previous night's events. His traitorous body reacted to the memory of the woman that he'd watched dance. His mind again conjured up visions of Bella and placed her as the dancer. He was suddenly drawn out of his daydream by the sound of the train braking as it pulled into the station. He felt strangely out of sorts, kind of like there'd been something missing for the past few days, but he couldn't figure out what it was. The sound of an impatient voice down the platform made him turn toward it.

"Hurry up, mister, the train can't wait for you all day." It was a male conductor, not the woman he had seen in the past, speaking rudely to the older man that he remembered the woman calling Harry.

Edward quickly walked over to the older gentleman to accompany him onto the train. He hoped that his presence would make the conductor a little more respectful. As he climbed the steps up into the vestibule of the car, he glared at the man and noted that the name on the badge he wore read Myer. He settled himself in a seat close to Harry.

"So," he heard the older gentleman say, "are you new on the train?"

Edward turned to face him and chuckled. "Not really. I've been riding this train for a couple of weeks now."

"Hmm, you look familiar. Do you normally ride in this car?" Harry asked.

Edward looked at him and shook his head. "I didn't think there were assigned cars."

"Son, you've got to learn the ropes." Harry laughed. "There's a pecking order for the prime seats, especially in the cars closer to the front of the train. You'll start to see that if you sit in someone's regular place, you'll get the stink-eye. When someone decides they don't want or need to ride the rails anymore then you move up in ranking."

Edward looked around uncomfortably. He felt like a new kid on the school playground. He waited for someone to say something to him about being in their seat.

"Don't worry, son," Harry interrupted his panic attack, "you're with me, for now at least. I've been riding this train for years. I've got high ranking. My name's Harry…Harry Clearwater, and you are?"

"Edward Masen, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you." Edward reached over and shook his hand.

"No need for such formalities. Just call me Harry, son." This made Edward smile, and he nodded at the older man, glad of his company. They talked about fishing for a while before the conversation turned to the subject of some of the regular passengers and employees on the train.

"Speaking of train employees, I remember seeing a woman conductor about a week ago," Edward began, only to be interrupted by the announcement of Geneva Station.

"Oh, this is my stop, son," Harry said. "It was nice to meet you. Maybe we'll catch up tomorrow." And with that he got up to stand at the doors of the train. After he stepped onto the platform at the station, Harry turned and waved at Edward. Edward waved back and planned to sit with the man again tomorrow.

A couple of minutes later, the conductor that had been _rushing_ Harry to board the train at their station came through the car to collect and check for tickets.

"Um, excuse me, Myer, is it?" Edward asked as the man passed by after he checked for his ticket. "Is Ms. Swan working today?" he asked.

"I don't know any Swan, mister, and if I did, I wouldn't be inclined to tell you. It's against company policy, and I don't need to lose my job," the man answered brusquely before walking away.

For the remainder of the ride to Chicago, Edward thought about how tomorrow he planned to meet up with Harry and get more information about Ms. Swan. Why he was so intrigued with her he couldn't fathom. He had never even met her or seen her up close, but there was something about her that made him want to know more.

An hour later, after the train reached the station, and after a short commute by bus, Edward entered his office. His secretary, Angela, advised him that he had a meeting with Mr. Jackson in thirty minutes. Mentally checking his schedule, he was taken aback. "Was it a scheduled meeting?" he asked.

"No, Edward," she answered. "When I came in this morning, there was a voice message to advise you of the meeting."

Edward thought back on the last meeting he'd had with Mr. Jackson. All had gone well. The man had accepted his proposal for supporting the local businesses, and Edward had been sure to share equal time between the larger accounts and the ones that he was most interested in, so he was surprised to be summoned to the owner's office first thing.

He entered his office, set down his briefcase, then headed to the elevators to go up to the 24th floor. He approached Mr. Jackson's secretary—a buxom brunette that had made her interest in him known quite well. He'd never been one to mix business with pleasure; he always kept his personal life away from the office.

"Hello, Edward," she purred as he approached, her eyes raking up and down his form. He tried to hide the slight shudder that ran down his spine at her lascivious greeting.

"Hello, Jessica," he replied coolly. "Mr. Jackson asked that I come to his office first thing." He then made his way over to a row of seats outside the office doors to wait.

"Well, I do know that he is expecting you. Let me see if he's ready for you." She stood and leaned over her desk. The neckline of her blouse was cut low enough that had he been inclined to look, he would have seen an ample amount of cleavage. "Would you like some coffee or _anything,_" she asked, the seductive tone on the last word leaving nothing to the imagination.

"No, thank you," he answered without a glance in her direction. He was eager to get into Mr. Jackson's office and out of the torture chamber in which he currently found himself. He'd hoped that his constant disregard of her advances would have deterred her, but after all this time it seemed to only spur her on.

"Well, I'll see how long Mr. Jackson will be," she said as she walked around her desk. Edward focused his eyes on the floor before him. The sudden appearance of red, five-inch heels made him aware that she had stopped directly in front of him instead. He continued to focus on the floor, hoping she would just carry on to see if he could get into his appointment and leave him alone.

"Hmph," she huffed as she stomped away from him toward Mr. Jackson's closed door. She knocked and then opened the door. "Mr. Jackson, Edward—I mean, Mr. Masen—is here for your appointment."

"Thank you, Jessica. Send him in, please." Edward stood when he heard the request. He approached the door and hoped to get through it without incident, but he was not so lucky. As he walked past Jessica, she turned and intentionally brushed her hand across the front of his trousers while she fluttered her clumpy mascaraed eyelashes at him. Another shudder of disgust ran through his body. She mistook the tremor as one of desire.

"I'll see you later, Edward, if you need _help_ with anything," she simpered before turning and walking back to her desk, swaying her hips side to side.

_God, that woman makes me sick to my stomach_, Edward thought. He really needed to say something to Mr. Jackson about her behavior, but now was not the appropriate time for that discussion.

When Edward entered the office, he expected to be met by Mr. Jackson alone; instead he was surprised to see a young woman seated in one of the chairs opposite his boss.

"Edward, glad you could make it on such short notice. Please have a seat. I'd like to introduce you to my niece, Tanya." he said as he gestured to the young woman.

"Pleasure to meet you, Tanya." Edward extended his hand as the woman stood to greet him.

He couldn't help but notice that she was an extremely attractive woman. She had strawberry blonde hair, light blue eyes, and stood about 5'8" in height, which put her only a few inches shorter than him. The red dress she had on clung to her voluptuous frame, showing off all of her curves. But there was something about her that warned of trouble.

"The pleasure is _all mine,_ I'm sure, Edward," Tanya responded, a suggestive smile on her lips as she grasped his hand lightly in greeting. When she pulled her hand back she let her long, manicured fingernails trail along his fingers, further showing her interest in him. _Oh great, _he thought, _out of the frying pan and into the fire. _

Mr. Jackson observed the interaction between the two. "Well," he interrupted, "let's get started, shall we?" He sat down and waited for them to take their seats.

"Edward, I know you've been busy working on the smaller accounts project that you proposed, and then you were assigned the _Frantastic Fish_ account. How has that been going?" he asked.

"Well, sir," Edward began, "it's been a slight challenge, but one that I'm up to." He wanted to assure his boss that he would not be distracted from either one. In truth, he really wanted to scrap the "fish" account and focus solely on the smaller accounts. The prior week he had had a meeting with the owner of _Frantastic Fish,_ and he was thoroughly disgusted with the attitude of the man. Edward had eaten at the restaurant prior to the entire franchise idea, and he had been impressed with both the food and the service. At that time, he met the manager and heard nothing but good things about the owner. However, during his meeting last week, he could not reconcile the kind words of the manager to the brusque, demanding man in his office that day.

"That, my boy, is why I have invited Tanya to this meeting," Mr. Jackson replied. He then turned to Tanya. "My dear, why don't you give Edward a brief summary of your background."

Edward turned to face Tanya, curious to hear what she had to say. He could always use a new opinion, but he couldn't help but sense a hint of nepotism that hung in the air.

"Thanks a lot for putting me on the spot, Uncle Peter," she replied before turning to face Edward more directly. The subtle _adjustment_ she made to her décolletage before she settled in her chair, which put her cleavage on major display, didn't escape Edward's attention. He raised an eyebrow at her obvious flirtations.

"Well, Edward, I took a break from this side of the industry to just live a normal life. I wanted to find out what the public needs and _desires_, to see what really _attracts_ them to a business." She continued to tell him about some of the accounts that she had _won_ and _handled_ during her career with the company before leaving it two years prior.

Her words did little to convince him of her story. Most likely she had just gotten tired of working and decided to act the spoiled rich kid and do what she wanted with no regard to anyone else. A few times, Edward glanced over to Mr. Jackson to gauge his reaction.

He sat there like a man showing off his prize pony. Every so often Edward would sense his gaze turn to him. At one point, Edward could swear he saw the wheels turning in the man's head, but he couldn't read what was on his mind. He did have a feeling that whatever it was wouldn't bode well for him.

"We're glad to have you back on board, Tanya," Mr. Jackson said after she finished her mini biography. A dreadful feeling washed over him as he realized from Mr. Jackson's words that she would be working here. _Please,_ he silently pleaded, _don't assign her to work with me._

"Edward," Mr. Jackson began. Edward turned to face his boss. _No, please, don't say it,_ he continued to silently pray.

"I'd like you to be Tanya's mentor." Edward mentally cursed the heavens above. "Get her up to speed on the industry," he continued. "You could have her work with you on the _Frantastic_ account. She had great results on the restaurant accounts she previously handled. Who knows, you two may become a great _pair_!"

Edward looked over at Tanya. The gleam in her eyes made him extremely uncomfortable. He felt like a lamb being stalked by a lion. He thought she was extremely attractive, and he didn't doubt that there would be a lot of sexual tension if they did work together, but he knew without a doubt that she would not make things easy. His self-imposed policy of not mixing pleasure with work would be hard strained—the disastrous relationship he'd had prior being the cause of said policy.

"Uh," Edward said in a faltering voice, "I don't really need any help. I met with the owner last week and we covered everything." He looked back at Mr. Jackson. There was no way to miss the look of abject disapproval he saw. _Oh, shit. Think quickly, Masen. You just turned down your boss _and _his niece. _Not_ a good career move._

"Maybe she could take it over, though…" He chanced a glance to Tanya. She didn't look overly excited about not working _closely_ with him as she had intended to do.

"No, I don't think that would be best at this time, Edward," Mr. Jackson said. "I _want_ you to take her under your wing and show her the ropes. Understood?" There was no denying it; he was stuck with her whether he liked it or not.

"Sure, Mr. Jackson," Edward conceded. "We'll get to work on the account immediately." He turned to Tanya and saw the smug look on her face.

She licked her lower lip and said, "I can't wait to get down to it."

_Oh, I am _so_ screwed_.

**a/n**

**I'd like to apologize for not posting last week. Was very busy. Had to go to Wisconsin to train a bunch of sales reps, then had my Mother In Law's funeral on the weekend. Will try to maintain a weekly posting however, with riding weather approaching it may be every other week. I know, I hate that as well and don't want to lose any readers. Stick with me - you'll be surprised! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks again to my wonderful pre-reader Caz and beta's Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny. **

**Sorry that this is late being posted. For the first time in 12 years I had to work on Good Friday and didn't have access to a computer that I could get the website on. **

**Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend and Easter for those that celebrate. **

Chapter 17

Planning for a Party

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight; I'm just taken the characters for a _ride…_

Bella woke the next morning with a lighter conscience. The weight of her past, as heavy as it was, was no longer pressing down upon her. She did, however, physically feel the effects of having unloaded those secrets. She walked into the ensuite and took a long, hard look at herself. Her eyes were red and puffy, her head hurt, and her face still bore the tracks of the tears she had shed throughout the night.

She performed her regular morning routine then dressed in some comfortable traveling clothes. She had planned a trip to Galena, and it would not be put off because of her meltdown the day before. She knew that today, especially, she would need a serious shopping expedition to recover from yesterday's drama. Natalie, a friend of hers, had told her about this fantastic clothing boutique she had found in the quaint town. She had a number of ensembles from the shop that Bella really admired.

Two hours later, when her GPS announced that she had arrived at her destination, confusion took over. She was surprised to be sitting in front of an empty spot on the street. Bella looked at two other storefronts to confirm the address and realized that her GPS was not malfunctioning. The numbers were consistent with the obvious gap between them.

She found a parking spot on the main street, exited her car, and walked along the sidewalk, referencing the street numbers in relation to the address she was searching out. She once again came across the gap between buildings where her intended destination should be sitting. She noticed that there was a sloped walkway there and decided to investigate. _Maybe they're just set _off_ the street,_ she thought as she started to ascend the hill. When she reached the top, she came across the storefront she had been searching for. The windows were bare except for a single poster that read: "_Closed – Please visit our new location opening June 14__th__ in Geneva, Illinois"._

_Well, hell,_ she thought, _I drive up here to shop at A-Salon and they're closed! Perfect. Well, at least they'll be closer for me to go to in the future. _Not to be deterred from her original plan, she wandered through the other shops along the street. She purchased a few items at a couple of stores but found little of interest in the rest of the stores that remained, so she decided to head home.

During the return drive to Elburn, her thoughts turned to the weekend ahead. She started thinking about the barbecue she wanted to have on Sunday to welcome her new tenant. The pool had been opened the previous weekend and, since the weather had cooperated over the week, the water should be warmed up enough for swimming. Her new patio furniture had been delivered and set up as well, and it was time to break in the new grill.

When Bella arrived home, she started making homemade muffins and cookies. She thought that a welcome basket would be a great way to greet her new tenant. While the items were baking, she retrieved a sheet of her personalized stationary and wrote out a welcome note.

_Dear Ms. Cullen, _

_Welcome to your new home! I know moving can be a "hungry" job, so I hope you'll enjoy these gifts from my kitchen. It's time to break in the pool, and I thought what better way to do that than to have a barbeque. Please invite your friends to join us for some sun, celebration, and good times, and I will gladly see you on Sunday at noon. _

_Sincerely, _

_B_

Bella then placed a call to Rosalie to let her know that she'd returned from her excursion and wanted to share with her the _treasures_ she had found.

"So, you and Emmett are still coming to the barbecue this weekend, right?" Bella asked.

"Of course we are. Is this going to be the official 'opening of the pool' gig? Oooh, we could make this an annual event," Rosalie enthusiastically replied. "I've got just the bikini to wear, too. I just bought it this week. It's _so _tiny, it will drive Emmett crazy!"

Bella blanched as Rosalie's words reminded her that she'd never be able to wear her favorite style of bikini again. The scars she bore weighed heavily on her. She had contemplated going to a tattoo parlor to have the _brands_ she'd received covered up, but she'd never let anyone see them and was still very self-conscious of them.

The topic of the barbecue was her focus. She would not let her past once again take precedence.

"That's a great idea, Rose. So, I wonder how much cattle will be slaughtered for the burgers I'll need for Emmett alone." she joked.

Rosalie laughed, and the two women continued to discuss the plans for the weekend barbecue. Bella was excited that she'd thought to ask her tenant to invite some of her friends to the barbeque as well. It would be nice to maybe branch out and meet a few nice, new people. After all, this was a new beginning for her as well.

After she hung up with Rosalie, she packed the baked goods into a basket she had purchased in Galena along with a few other miscellaneous items and made her way over to the unit next door. She wanted to be certain that the appliances had been installed and that everything was set for her tenant.

=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=

On Saturday morning, Bella woke to a wonderful sunny day. She crossed her fingers as she checked the forecast for Sunday. Sunny and eighty-five degrees was the expected forecast for the day. _Perfect,_ Bella thought. She was excited that the pool would be used as well as the new grill unit.

_Hmm…what to serve?_ Burgers were a definite yes, maybe ribs as well. Bella placed a quick call to Jasper to ask him what kind of ribs she should buy: spare or country-style. He was a master at barbequing ribs. Potato salad, macaroni salad, and baked potatoes, along with a scrumptious chocolate cheesecake and a selection of fresh fruit and berries for dessert, all ended up on the menu for Sunday's festivities.

Bella put the shopping list in her purse, and as she opened the garage door to get ready to leave, she could hear sounds of her tenant moving in next door, more so from the men that were there helping her than from the woman herself. She couldn't help but hear a few of the more _colorful_ comments being made as they made their way into the house with furniture and such.

"Seriously, Al!" Bella heard a muffled voice state. "What the fuck? You're, like, five feet tall! Why do you need a California king-size bedroom set?"

"Oh, stow it," a female voice, that she assumed belonged to her tenant, replied_. _"If I meet the tall, handsome man of my dreams, I sure as hell don't want his feet hanging over the edge."

Bella laughed to herself. _Oh, this is going to be good. I can tell already that this woman is going to be fun to have as a neighbor,_ she thought. Bella stopped by the liquor store to reserve a two kegs of Rolling Rock that Emmett would pick up the next day and then continued on to the grocery store.

When she returned back to the house, she noticed that there was only one car in the driveway: a Porsche 911 Carrera S. _Wow, nice choice of car._

Bella then remembered a disastrous blind date she had gone on after moving to the area.

Eleazar was a nice looking man with a dark complexion, but he'd had an air of arrogance about him that had put her off a bit. They'd sat in her living room and chatted, getting to know one another a bit more before going out for dinner. To break the ice a bit more, she'd decided to tell him a riddle. To this day, she still couldn't understand why she'd chosen that particular one.

"How can you tell the difference between a Porsche and a porcupine?" she'd asked him with a smile.

Eleazar had looked at her hesitantly and replied, "I have no idea."

"The prick's on the outside of a porcupine," she'd laughingly replied.

He'd given her the strangest look and said, "Our dinner reservations are at 7pm. We should really leave now_._"

She'd noticed the suddenly serious tone in his voice, and she'd been horribly mortified when they'd walked outside to his Porsche Cayenne sitting in the driveway. Needless to say, that had been her first and last date with Eleazar.

Bella snapped out of the memory and started making the salads for the following day's event. Finished with the food preparations, Bella decided to go back into her studio to put together a playlist for the party.

_Now I just have to wait and hope that the good weather holds out. _


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

**No you're not imagining things. It's a real posting. I wanted these last couple of chapters to be as "real" as possible. You need to "be" there with them. So I decided to post tonight since I didn't last week. Even more so after the WTF I got from a friend today asking where the update is. **

**(You know who you are hon - I promised you'd get something tonight - so here's your fix!) **

** I have to conf****ess. I have NO idea where I would be if it wasn't for my wonderful friend, Caz, proofreading for me. Also, two wonderful betas Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny for cleaning up my mess! **

**Stephenie Meyer owns **_**Twilight**_**; I'm just taken the characters for a **_**ride…**_

Alice was practically vibrating with excitement when she woke up on Saturday morning. She couldn't wait to get to her new house! But when she entered the kitchen and found Edward sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of him and a crestfallen look on his face, her mood quickly deflated. He became aware of her presence and quickly passed a hand over his eyes. He had thought he would be able to hide the sadness that he felt at Alice moving out. The impending loneliness had seemed to settle on him hard this morning. Alice was stunned, as she had never known him to break down over anything.

"Hey, there…" Alice said as she walked over to the coffee pot to pour herself a cup. She eyed Edward warily. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking it's about time I got rid of an annoying roommate," he quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hmph! So, annoying, am I?" she bantered back, with a grin on her face. "Let's see, I chauffeur you around, I pick up your laundry, I cook your meals…" Alice leaned back against the kitchen counter and ticked the items off on her fingers. "To me, it sounds like _you're_ the annoying one," she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, okay, I guess you did pull your weight around here," he replied with a chuckle. "So what time do we have to leave here for your new digs?"

"Well," she said, taking a seat across from him at the table, "I had planned to go over early while you met up with the guys, if you don't mind." Alice actually wanted a few moments _alone_ in her new home before everyone else made it there. She needed to get her bearings and imprint on the place in peace.

"Sure, no problem," Edward answered, a glint in his eye. "Paul and Sam plan to follow me from here, so we'll be over around nine, if that's okay."

"That's perfect. It will give me time to get in and start unpacking the things you dropped off the other night and get some things arranged," she answered as she stood. Alice rinsed out her coffee cup, dropped a kiss on top of Edward's head, and murmured, "I'll miss you," as she walked out of the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later, she pulled into the driveway of her new home. "Home," she sighed. She had enjoyed living with Edward for the past few months, but she knew that he was holding himself back from dating with her living there. She understood how it would look to bring a date back to your house for a romantic evening when another woman was living there, even if it were a cousin. The few times he _had_ brought a date home had been eventful. After being introduced briefly to one date in particular, she overheard the woman comment, "Few men have a woman for a roommate." Even after trying to explain the situation to his date, Alice never saw the woman visit the house again.

She shook the memory away, unlocked the front door, and walked into the house. She took in the front room, imagining how she wanted the furniture arranged, and then continued through the rest of the house. She entered the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to see a basket of baked goods on the kitchen counter. She picked up a sheet of note paper watermarked with a swan and read the welcome note and invitation to a barbeque the next day. The signature was just a large _B,_ but with the presence of the swan on the sheet, she had suspicions that Ms. Swan from the railroad was her landlady.

_Hmm,_ she thought,_ this will be the perfect time to get her and Edward to__officially meet. _She knew that if she told him who she thought her landlady was, he would probably avoid any interaction at all. He would observe her from afar, but he wouldn't pursue. Alice tucked the sheet of paper into a drawer and started unpacking, with thoughts of fixing up her cousin with the woman he couldn't keep his eyes off of.

When Edward and the guys arrived an hour later, they set to work unpacking the storage pod on the driveway. Edward took every possible opportunity to tease Alice on her choice of furniture.

"Seriously, Al," Edward huffed as he picked up an end of the headboard, "what the fuck? You're, like, four feet tall! Why do you need a king-size bed?"

"Oh, stow it," she replied. "If I meet the tall and handsome man of my dreams, I sure as hell don't want his feet hanging over the edge."

The rest of the day was spent with the two cousins bantering back and forth as the house quickly became a _home_.

Alice kept a diligent lookout for any sign of her landlady/neighbor. She didn't want to miss the opportunity of finally being able to confirm that B. Swan was indeed the woman she thought she was. Unfortunately, she never saw her.

That evening, as Alice finished organizing her home, her thoughts turned to the barbeque planned for the next day. She had told Edward, Paul, and Sam about the party when they arrived, and they were all excited about it, but she couldn't help but notice the slightly panicked look on Edward's face, which made her think he wouldn't attend. He quickly shook it off, though, and said that he would be there.

Later that evening, as Edward sat in the silence of his house, his thoughts turned back to the day spent helping Alice move. He had felt a constant buzz along his skin while at Alice's new house, and he wasn't sure if it was attributed to the last time he had been there. Edward knew that the first time he met Alice's landlady was going to be awkward. How in the hell was he supposed to look the woman he'd spied on in the eye? He had witnessed her dancing and then jacked off to the memory of her, _repeatedly._

=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=

Bella woke up early and excited Sunday morning. After a quick breakfast of cereal with fresh strawberries, she gathered some cleaning supplies and made her way out to the pool area. She wanted to wipe down the table and chairs and check on the temperature of the pool.

She placed the cleaning supplies on the table and walked over to the pool area. As she knelt down at one corner of the pool, a tingle ran down her spine. She felt like she was being watched. She glanced around but didn't see a sign of anyone.

After unhooking the corner of the solar cover, which she was thankful Jasper and Emmett had had the foresight to install earlier in the week to help warm the water, she reached into the water to retrieve the temperature gauge. _Mmmm…the water feels perfect,_ she thought as her hand was enveloped by the warmth. She looked at the reading on the gauge and saw that it was a comfortable ninety degrees—just warm enough without being too hot.

Bella reattached the cover, as she knew there was no way she would be able to handle opening the pool herself. Jasper and Emmett could handle that when they arrived_._ As she walked back to the table, she noticed the vertical blinds move in the doorway of the unit next door. _Maybe I didn't imagine someone watching me, after all. _For some reason, though, this time she didn't think anything strange about it. _It is her residence now as well,_ she reminded herself.

Bella returned to the house to prepare the ribs and to assemble her special hamburgers for the barbeque. .

As she cooked, her thoughts wandered back to the first time she had made this meal.

_She had just finished sautéing onions and peppers for Corndog Casserole when Charlie walked into the kitchen with three pounds of ground beef. _

"_The refrigerators at the Harolds'__ store died thirty minutes ago, so we got ground beef at fifty cents a pound. How about burgers tonight?" he asked as he walked into the living room to take off his jacket and to hang up his gun. _

"_Okay," Bella replied. She looked down at the half-sautéed peppers and onions. She hated to waste them but then thought about the times when they had eaten stuffed peppers. _Hmmm,_ she wondered, _I bet I could mix these into the burgers and it would be like a reversed stuffed pepper_. So, she set about creating what turned out to be one of her father's and brother's favorite burger recipes._

As she continued the assembly of the burgers, her thoughts turned to meeting her new neighbor, and what she could bring to her life.

Bella had stayed with Emmett and Rosalie when she first moved to the area. She'd been extremely thankful for their hospitality but had been certain that she could not continue to take advantage of the situation. After two weeks of living with them, she'd sought out a real estate agent to find a place of her own. Bella appreciated their generosity but really needed to be on her own. As she reflected back on that intense discussion, a small smiled tugged at her lips.

"_Emmett, I appreciate you and Rosalie putting yourselves out for me, but I really want to get my own place, and soon." _

"_Bells, you don't need to leave. We love having you here. I don't know exactly what you went through, but I sure as hell would feel better if you were here with us." _

"_Em, I appreciate that, but I need to be on my own. Besides, I'm getting a little tired of hearing you and Rosalie go at it all the time. I mean, seriously, there is only so much a person can take!"_

Bella glanced up at the clock and realized that it was just past noon. "Damn_,"_ she huffed. She had told everyone to arrive between twelve-thirty and one o'clock. That only gave her the opportunity for a quick shower. She piled her long hair into a bun on top of her head and donned a shower cap. _I'm swimming later anyway,_ she thought. _No sense in washing it twice in one day._

After her shower, she quickly dressed in a pair of cut-off jean shorts and a tank top with a blush colored bra underneath. She had thought of wearing the swimsuit she had picked out, but she didn't think it would be appropriate to meet new people while half-naked. _Um, like what you're wearing now is any more modest?_ she chided herself.

The swimsuit she had chosen to wear today was a blue monokini that gave the appearance of being crocheted but wasn't. The top and bottom were connected through a strip that ran down the center of her abdomen. She felt comfortable in the suit, as the waistline was high enough to cover her scars, and the center strip ensured that the bottom wouldn't slip down.

While she was in the shower, Jasper and Rosalie arrived together and let themselves in. They all had a key to each other's houses; in case anything ever happened to one of them, the others could get in and check on them or, as the women often joked, clean out the bedside table drawers. Emmett would arrive later since he had to pick up the keg.

As Bella walked back into the kitchen, Jasper took a moment to look over the ribs that Bella had prepared earlier. "These look fantastic, B! You did a great job," he commented as he picked up the platter of ribs and walked outside to put them on the grill. He had always been very adamant on how to cook them, and it was a task he would not let anyone else perform.

Bella followed Jasper outside. After he set the ribs on the grill on low, she suggested that the two of them uncover the pool considering the fact that Emmett would be arriving later.

After they pulled the cover back and stored it, she set about putting pool toys into the water. She had purchased a few noodles and float pads for use during the summer. As Bella bent over to put a few floating drink coasters into the water, she heard a door open and then muffled voices coming from inside the house. She hardly had a chance to wonder who it was before she heard Emmett enter the pool area.

His boisterous voice prepared her for his usual attack. "Hey, Bellybutton, we're here!" Emmett announced loudly as he entered the deck area, beer keg in tow. As she stood to greet him, and whoever else had entered, she stumbled over a water noodle that was at her feet. She reached out to any solid thing she could grab hold of but unfortunately still fell backwards into the water, bringing what she grasped along with her.

As she emerged from the depths of the water, she subconsciously wrapped her legs around the form that she had been attached to during her fall and wiped the hair from her eyes.

"Fuck me…" she muttered as she tried to regain her composure.

"Okay, but don't you think we should be officially introduced first" a velvety voice whispered in her ear.

Bella's eyes popped open, and she found herself staring into a set of green eyes that immediately had her melting. _Oh. My. God. It's Edward!_

**a/n I'd really like to know what everyone thought of their meeting. Please review!**

**By the way - Corndog Casserole is REALLY good - not terribly healthy but REALLY good! **


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello all! Sorry for the delay in the postings lately. The hubs and I just got back from a wonderful vacation. Took a cruise from Tampa Florida to Cozumel Mexico. Awesome time. Unfortunately didn't have access to the internet to post this story and I was B.E.A.T. when we got home last night. With all that said and done - here's the update! Thanks for sticking with me. **

Riding the Rails

Chapter 19

Want to thank the great people that have helped me with this story. Caz for pre-reading and the wonderful beta's Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny for fixing my guffaws.

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters; I'm just taking them for a _ride…_

**What the Hell Just Happened?**

To say Edward was nervous was putting it mildly. He felt as though he could peel his skin off in his agitation. He knew if he didn't accept the invitation to the barbeque that Alice had informed him of, along with Sam and Paul, that not only would it be an insult to her new landlady but it would also make Alice _very_ suspicious about the declination. He had never been known to turn down an invite to a party before.

On the day of the party, he and Alice stepped out onto the patio to take in the fresh air. It barely took a second before a tingling sensation—one he'd felt every time he'd been at Alice's new place—kicked into high gear across his skin. The source of the sensation was quickly identified when he noticed the woman, _the dancer, _kneeling down by the side of the pool. He took a deep breath and steeled his resolve to act like an adult and not the lecherous pervert he felt he was before striding over behind her to make a quick introduction. He made a mental note to be sure to look her in the eye when they finally came face to face, no matter how difficult it might be. _How do I look her in the eye after spying on her and then jerking off to thoughts of her? _Fortunately for him, he never got the opportunity to find out. Edward stood close to her, practically hovering, and was about to speak when he heard a door open behind him. He turned toward the house just as a large man exited it, and he instantly recognized him. _Hold up, isn't that Bella's brother? How does he know Alice's landlady? Holy shit, is Bella going to be here, too?_

"Hey, Bellybutton, we're here!" Emmett announced loudly as he entered the deck area with a beer keg easily resting over his large shoulder.

Edward turned back to the woman in question as she rose to greet her guests. She stumbled over a pool toy and reached out to steady herself, grabbing a handful of Edward's t-shirt. Unfortunately, her balance had already been thrown off enough that she fell backwards into the pool, taking Edward with her.

Edward instinctually grabbed her by the waist and pushed up through the water. As they surfaced, he heard her sputter then exclaim, "Fuck me."

"Okay, but don't you think we should be officially introduced first?" He couldn't stop the comment from leaving his mouth as he felt her legs wrap around him. The feel of her body in his arms was utter _perfection_, like she was made to fit against him. _Damn, I could get used to this, _he thought to himself, though he found it a bit strange that he felt such a strong attraction to a woman whose face he hadn't even seen clearly yet.

The woman in his arms pushed away the hair covering her face. At his comment, her eyes widened as they snapped to meet his. His breath caught as he lost himself in the deep brown of her eyes. "Bella?_"_ he whispered. He felt a sudden push against his chest, and emptiness overtook him as she slipped from his embrace.

He watched as she quickly and gracefully swam to the steps at the shallow end of the pool and climbed out. The way her wet tank top clung to her body accentuated the taut lines of her stomach and showed the blush-colored bra she wore, which was now visible through the wet material. It gave him an idea of what her skin might look like when flushed with passion. Edward watched as her nipples tightened, the taut buds straining against the fabric. A sudden matching blush covered her face and chest as she looked down at her traitorous breasts. She quickly grabbed a towel and ran into her house.

"Dude, who _are_ you, and what the_ fuck_ did you do to my sister?" Emmett bellowed at him from the side of the pool. Edward glared up at the big man, determined not to show any sign of intimidation. As he climbed out of the water, Emmett quickly approached him, his hands fisted at his sides. "I asked you, who _are_ you, and what the_ fuck_ did you do to Bella?" he asked again, this time more firmly.

Now that they were on even ground, Edward pulled himself up to his full height and eyed the big man before him with determination. "What did _I_ do? _I_ didn't do anything to _her!_" He huffed. "_She_ pulled me into the pool with her when _she_ tripped after _you_ bellowed out at her. And _I'm_ here as a guest of my cousin, who just moved in to the unit next door." His voice got louder with each word.

"Well, if you hadn't crept up on her like some kind of stalker, I don't think she would have stumbled," Emmett countered. Edward flinched slightly at the word _stalker_, and the movement didn't escape Emmett's notice. He narrowed his eyes at Edward and took another step closer.

Edward advanced his right foot in a defensive stance. "I'd like to ask you the same thing. Who are _you_, and whatare _you_ doing here?"

"I have every right to be here," Emmett all but snarled. "This is my sister's house."

Edward reeled back in surprise. _Holy shit, Bella is Alice's landlady! _He stole a glance toward Alice, and she turned to him with a smile. _We'll definitely be having a talk later._ Edward stood tall and cleared his throat. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to put some dry clothes on." He pushed past Emmett and strode into Alice's house to change. Everyone's eyes followed his departure.

"Um, hi!" Everyone turned toward the lilting voice behind them. "I'm Alice."

Alice glanced at the three people before her, wary as to what the rest of the day would bring after such a disastrous beginning. When her gaze landed on Jasper, she gasped. Suddenly, he appeared directly in front of her, and he took her hand in his and raised it to his lips.

"Well, pleased to see you again, little lady," he said as he kissed the top of her hand lightly. "I'm Jasper."

Rosalie walked up to Emmett and smacked him on the back of the head. "You idiot, what were you thinking? I'm going to check on Bella. Fix this mess!" She then turned to walk into the house, but before she took even two steps, she turned back and gave him a swift kiss. "I know you're just being your usual protective, big brotherly self, but you don't realize _who _you almost attacked," she added before walking into the house to find her friend.

Emmett stared at his wife's retreating form as he rubbed the back of his head. _How is it that she always knows _exactly_ where to hit to make a point?_ he wondered.

=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=

"_Fuck me…" she muttered as she tried to regain her composure. _

"_Okay, but don't you think we should be officially introduced first?" _

As soon as Bella realized whose arms she was in, she quickly pushed away from him and swam over to the steps at the shallow end of the pool and climbed out. She could feel the intense stare from the deep green eyes that she'd gazed into just moments earlier. She glanced down to where his eyes were trained on her and internally cursed her traitorous body as she watched her nipples harden. She grabbed a towel and ran into the house as fast as she could, humiliation coloring her face the whole time.

Bella ran into her room, slammed the door shut, and slid down to the floor. She sat there for a few moments thumping her head against the door. _Holy shit,_ she thought_, it's _him_! The jogger…the Volvo guy from the station…the Adonis from the club…Edward!_ _Yep, it's him all right, and you just asked him to fuck you. Smooth move there, Bella._ More head thumping ensued as she tried to silence her internal monologue and quell her embarrassment.

After a few minutes, Bella heard a light knock on the door. "Bella, are you in there?" _Thump, thump, thump._ She heard Rosalie ask, "Are you okay?" _Another thump._

"Yeah, I'm okay Rosalie, I just can't believe what just happened," she replied.

Rosalie turned the knob and tried to open the door, but she was met with resistance. "Bella, did you shove something against the door?" She chuckled. She had no idea that the something against the door was in fact her sister-in-law.

With a huff, Bella stood up and opened the door to face Rosalie. "I can't believe that just happened!" Bella said as soon as she looked at Rosalie. "What is _he_ doing here?"

"I have no idea, Bella. You ran into the house so quickly, everyone just stood there gaping at each other. I thought that I should check on you to make sure you were okay," Rosalie said as she rubbed her hands up and down Bella's arms in a comforting gesture. "How about you change into your suit and come back out? Act like nothing happened. Who knows, this may be a story to tell your grandchildren about on how you two met." Bella's head snapped up, and a fierce scowl covered her features. "Oh shit, Bella!" Rosalie gasped. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot." Bella had told Rosalie at one time that she couldn't have children. She hadn't told her the reason why, though, as she didn't want to burden the woman she considered her sister with her trauma.

=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=

_Damn that fucking asshole for looking at me that way! I am not a stalker! She's the one who pulled me into the pool with her. Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have been hovering over her, but damn it, I had to be close to her. There's just something about her that draws me near,_ Edward continued to internally ramble as he walked into one of the guest rooms to change into his swimsuit. _Well, might as well get ready to get wet in the right clothes. Let's see if I can get into the pool the correct way._

Edward stripped himself out of his wet shirt and was suddenly overcome with lustful thoughts as the image of Bella's erect nipples straining against her white shirt assaulted him. He took a moment to look out to the patio from the bedroom window. _Oh God, if just the _memory_ of that sight gets me this hard, how the hell am I going to make it when she's out there in a swimsuit?_ He quickly headed into the bathroom, stripped off his shorts, and stepped into the shower. He figured he had about five to ten minutes before his extended absence looked suspicious. _Plenty of time,_ he mused as he took his hardened cock in his hand. _Alice would fucking kill me if she knew I was knocking one out in her new house. Oh well, since I'm going to hell anyway… _Images of Bella flooded his mind, and he quickly stroked himself to a fast release.

After carefully washing away the evidence and donning his swimming shorts, he walked back through the house, pausing to pick up the Seven Layer Dip that Alice had asked him to bring.

_"You never show up empty-handed, Edward. How many times have I told you that?"_ she had admonished him.

"_Jeez, Pixie. you're worse than my mom!"_ he had replied, a moment before screaming in agony as she'd tweaked his nipple, _hard!_

Edward squared his shoulders. Emmett had tried to intimidate him earlier, so he knew that he had to put on a strong front against him until he knew him better. He never had a chance to meet the other people that were there, so he would be going into the frayblind. _Think about Alice's feelings,_ he reminded himself. _Think about Bella's body against you_.

_I am _so _fucked, _was his final thought as he took his first step through the patio door into the sunshine.

**A/N - Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I'm working on the update as fast as I can. I got some inspiration from the cruise. But it was a little difficult to concentrate on Edward when they were having belly flop contests, line dancing instructions and then the worst - THE SEXIEST MAN ON THE SHIP. Oh Lord - there were some FINE specimens let me tell you. One even was the right height to be Edward! **


	20. Chapter 20

Ok – this is going to be a short one. Working our way up to a real "meeting"

**SM owns Twilight and characters – I'm only taking them for a ride.**

Thanks again to Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny for all of their patience and guidance.

And Caz for her pre-reading. If you get a chance, check out the banner Caz made for the story.

**http: (/) della-ridingtherails (dot) (/) ?zx=8f56caabf51cc32f**

Riding the Rails

Chapter 20

_Holy shit, how am I going to survive this day?_ Edward thought as he walked toward the table that was loaded with dips and appetizers to deliver his and Alice's contribution to the barbeque. He looked around and saw his traitorous cousin and the cowboy off to the side talking. Emmett, his newest enemy, glared at him from across the way as he lifted a one hundred twenty-pound keg of beer as if it were a paperweight and set it inside a barrel of ice water.

Edward noticed that there were two full sized kegs at the party. Considering that it was a Sunday, and so far there were only the six people in attendance, the first thought that went through his mind was, _I hope there are more people attending. _As he finished that thought, he heard voices coming from the side of the house. Paul and Sam came around the corner first, and they snickered when they saw the look on Edward's face.

"Hey, guys," he said as he walked toward them. "I didn't know if you two were going to make it today."

"Well, Alice did say something yesterday about the barbeque, and when Bella saw us yesterday, she reminded us as well," Sam replied.

"Wait a minute…" Edward looked around quickly then lowered his voice. "You mean you _knew_ whose house we were at yesterday, and you didn't say anything?" He glanced over to Paul, who had the decency to turn his head away before nodding an affirmative. Edward turned back to Sam for confirmation.

"Uh, yes, we did. We _are_ friends of hers, you know. Why wouldn't we know where she lives?"

Paul snorted. "Yeah, you wouldn't believe all the times we've had to bring her home and put her to bed."

Paul's eyes widened at the strange sound coming from Edward. "Dude, are you growling at me?"

Edward suddenly realized that was exactly what he was doing. "Sorry," he apologized, "there's just something about . . ." He shook his head to clear thoughts of a naked Bella being placed in bed by one of the men in front of him.

"Hey, about time some good guys got here," Emmett snidely commented as he walked over to the group of men with two cups of beer in each hand. He handed one to Paul and the other to Sam. "Glad you guys could make it. Maybe the day won't be a total bust after all." Emmett glared straight at Edward before turning and walking away. The message that Edward was not totally welcome was clear to them all.

"What the fuck was _that_ all about? What did you do?" Sam asked, turning to Edward.

"Why does everyone think _I_ did something?" Edward demanded as he reached over and took the cup of beer out of Paul's hand just as he was about to take a sip.

"Hey, fucker, that was my beer," Paul protested.

Sam inclined his chin toward Paul, indicating that he and Edward needed a few moments of privacy.

"Okay…well…I'll just be over there getting another beer and some snacks. Anyone want anything? No? Good," Paul rambled as he walked away.

Sam turned toward Edward. "Okay, spill. What did you do?" There was a deadly gleam in his eyes.

"What do you mean spill ?" Edward snapped. "What makes you think I did anything?" Everyone's assumption that he was at fault for the earlier events was wearing on him. He had only wanted to meet the woman who controlled his dreams. Was it _his_ fault that he startled her and she fell into the pool?

"Fine!" he huffed. "So, earlier, I _may_ have been partially responsible for Bella falling into the pool, but she took me with her!" he quickly blurted out while he looked at the ground.

Sam doubled over, clutching his stomach. Edward thought that perhaps he had taken ill but was then surprised by Sam's sudden outburst of laughter. "So, you've met the _un_graceful swan, I take it?" Sam stuttered out between bouts of snorts and laughter.

Edward stood stock still with his mouth hanging open. "Did you say _Swan_?" he finally sputtered out.

Sam just looked at him with a confused expression on his face. "Yeah, Swan, as in her last name. Didn't you know that?"

"No, I didn't know her last name was Swan. Why would I?" he asked.

"Well, your cousin _is _leasing from her. I thought for sure she would have mentioned it," Sam replied.

At that bit of insight, Edward slowly glared in Alice's direction. _Oh, Lucy! __You got some 'splainin' to do!_

While he pinned Alice in his laser beam stare and planned out his interrogation of her, Alice suddenly turned and grinned at him like a Cheshire cat. Why she would have kept the fact that Bella was her landlady was unclear, but he would find out.

"Excuse me, Sam," Edward said in a dark tone as he turned to walk away, "I need to have a little _chat_ with my cousin."

"Oh, shit. Edward," Sam grabbed Edward's forearm, "I didn't mean to cause any problems. I'm sure she had a reason for not telling you." Edward glared down at Sam's hand then up to Sam's face.

Sam quickly released his grip, and his thoughts raced for anything that might help calm Edward down. "Didn't you say that she hadn't met her yet? Maybe she didn't know." He was scrambling for any excuse to protect Alice, even though he knew Edward wouldn't do anything to hurt or truly upset her.

"Oh, I'm sure she _knew,_" Edward replied. "What I want to know is _why _she didn't tell me." When he turned again to make his way over to where she was seated, he saw the pleading look on her face. _Please don't question me here. I'll tell you _everything_ once we're alone,_ he read in her eyes. He nodded his head and swore he could hear her exhale the breath she seemed to have been holding.

Edward mentally shook off his sour mood and decided to make the most of the day. He turned back to Sam and lightly punched him in the shoulder. "So, Sam, you ready for another beer? I want a chance to make amends with the big guy over there and see if I can salvage the day."

"Um, yeah, about that…" Sam interjected. "You _really_ need to make an impression on Emmett in order for Bella to acknowledge you." Sam's eyes suddenly widened. "Hey, I've got the _perfect_ idea! It will make things so much easier for you in the end."

He suddenly had Edward's full attention.


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

**Stephenie Meyer owns **_**Twilight**_**; I'm just taken the characters for a **_**ride…**_

_**Sorry that it's been so long for a posting. It's really not as easy to do this as it appears! I've had this story going through my mind for a while. I already know the fight/breakup (and yes because there's an HEF) but I have to put it together! **_

_**As always I want to thank the lovely Caz for pre-reading for me and Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny for keeping me in grammatical line. **_

_**Now back to our story! **_

"_Um yeah, about that," Sam __continued, "you really need to make an impression on Emmett in order for Bella to acknowledge you." Sam's eyes widened, and he snapped his fingers. "Hey, I've got the perfect resolution! Plus, it will make things so much easier for you in the end." _

_He suddenly had Edward's full attention. _

"_Okay Sam__ I'm game," he answered. "What do you suggest?" _

The next two words he heard were a shock to his system.

"Ignore her," was Sam's simple response as he turned to walk away, but he was pulled to a stop by Edward's firm grip on his shoulder.

"What? What do you mean _ignore_ her?" Edward spluttered. "I've been trying to get her to _notice_ me each time I've seen her, and _now_ your _suggestion_ is to just _ignore_ her?" He narrowed his eyes at Sam. "Why exactly would I want to do that?"

"Easy there, Tarzan," Sam said, in a calming tone, as he reached to pull Edward's hand, which was squeezing painfully into his shoulder, away. "Believe me, I know what I'm doing. I wasn't going to say anything, but I've noticed the looks she's been giving you when you aren't looking. I have _never_ seen her look so interested in someone before. If you play it right, she'll make the first move, which is always best when it comes to a relationship with Bella. Remember how we told you that she doesn't talk to strangers in a bar?" He waited for Edward's confirmation. "Well, we're here at her house, the same place that your cousin will be living at, right?" Edward nodded again. "Make yourself known to everyone here today, talk it up with them, get to know Emmett, and get on his good side. The next important person will be Jasper. He's like her second brother."

"Wait a minute," Edward interrupted, confusion clearly present on his face. "I thought you said they were _together_."

"No, I said that they had _been_ together. They were dating each other exclusively for a few months when she first came to town, before she started dating Jake. That ass really fucked her over. He couldn't believe that she and Jasper could just be friends, and he started spreading stories of them being fuck buddies. I know that what Paul and I said earlier at the Depot wasn't appropriate, but I was trying to deflect your attention. They truly aren't that way. She's got more class than that. When she needs emotional support, they get together and hang out. Work your way into her trust zone and you'll have a chance. "Now," Sam said as he clapped his hand on Edward's shoulder, "enough of the philosophical shit. Let's go get drunk!" He headed over to the beer kegs.

"Wait a minute!" Edward snarled. "What do you mean you were _trying to deflect my attention_?" He glared heatedly at Sam.

"Think about it, man," Sam began. "Paul and I have known Bella for a few years. He and I know how she's hesitant about men…and admit it," he paused, "your first reaction when you saw her at the park was a little intense." Edward arched his brow in defiance at what Sam was insinuating. "Even when we were at _The Depot_, you were displaying some _stalkerish_-type tendencies."

Edward blanched for the second time that day as he realized that people thought of him as a stalker. He was suddenly overcome by a wave of self-imposed guilt.

"Edward," he heard Sam say, "trust me, man. Just sit around the pool, chat with everyone, and no matter what, _do not _pay attention to her. But first we need to get you on Emmett's good side."

As Sam's words sunk in, Edward took a moment to look around the pool area. He watched his cousin and her new "friend" as they sat off to the side chatting and getting friendly. His gaze landed on Emmett and the tall blonde by his side. They both turned their gaze to Edward. While Emmett's was threatening, he received an almost sympathetic look from her.

"Come with me if you want to live," he heard Sam say in one of the worst impressions of the Terminator that Edward had ever heard. He glanced over and saw the smirk that covered Sam's face. _Ass-hat,_ Edward thought, and then he chuckled. His friend was giving him an opportunity, so why wouldn't he take it? "Seriously, follow my lead, and we'll accomplish this mission." Sam snickered.

"Emmett," Sam called out as he and Edward approached the huge man. "Happy belated birthday. We," he turned and gestured to Edward, "saw you and the group celebrating at _The Depot_. It would appear that Bella finally got back at you. Let me introduce you all. This is Edward Masen. Edward, this is Emmett McCarty."

Emmett registered the look of confusion that flashed across Edward's face at the announcement of his last name. _Yes,_ he thought_, time to make this fucker sweat!_

"Pleasure to meet you, Emmett," Edward said as he reached his hand forward to shake Emmett's. "McCarty, huh?" _I roomed with a Joe McCarty at Stanford…I wonder if he's any relation, _he thought. "Aren't you Bella's brother? I thought her last name was Swan?"

His gaze shifted across the patio to where Bella was seated, talking to Alice and the cowboy. Alice's interest in the man was quite obvious yet the two women appeared to be chatting amicably. _Huh, maybe there isn't anything going on with Bella and the cowboy after all. _

His internal debate on how to approach her weighed on his mind. _Bella_ _has a different last name than him… Is she married? No, if she was married, she wouldn't have been screwing around with that blonde guy, would she? Maybe she's separated or divorced…_ His glare turned in the direction of his cousin, who was currently being _wooed_ by said blonde guy. _If that asshole is still fucking around with Bella and starts something with_ _Alice and hurts her, I will _end_ him. _

Emmett watched as a myriad of emotions flitted across Edward's face. First there was despondence, then aversion, and then finally hope. _Oh, _hell, _no, _Emmett thought. _This fucker is going down._ The aversion he had toward Edward was not in his nature, but there was _something_ about the man that kicked up his protective side.

"Yeah," Emmett said, bringing Edward's attention back to their conversation, "she's my baby sister. I love her to _death_." Emmett drew out the last word and looked pointedly at Edward, conveying a silent message. "We've had different last names for about ten years now." And just like that, the look he was after—despondence—made a return appearance. Emmett was internally fist-pumping and getting ready to take a drink of the beer in his hand in salute until Rosalie slapped him upside the head.

"Idiot," he heard her mutter. "Why can't you just tell the truth?" she said as she rolled her eyes. "You changed it to your mother's last name because you thought Swan would sound too feminine for a football coach."

_Damn,_ Emmett thought, _how could Rosie betray me by giving stalker guy here more info than I wanted him to have? _

He had to regain his previous level of intimidation. "So, you were there at _The Depot_, huh? Didn't notice…" Emmett said, fixing Edward with a pointed stare.

"Yes, my cousin Alice and I were there. It certainly was an interesting celebration."

Edward couldn't help but notice the ever-present scowl that Emmett wore on his face. _Seriously? How much ass-kissing am I going to have to endure before this Neanderthal becomes civil? _He then decided that his best line of defense was the blonde, or he at least hoped.

"Forgive my manners," Edward stated as he reached for her hand, "I'm Edward Masen. We didn't have a chance to meet earlier." Instead of returning the grasp, Rosalie stared at his outreached hand. _Well, I guess I've totally struck out with this family, _he thought.

Before he could register what was happening, he felt himself pulled into a brief but fierce hug. "You're okay," she murmured before pulling away. _Well, I guess I made it past one relative at least._ He looked at the woman who had just about squeezed the air out of him.

"Rose!" Emmett growled out, mortified by his wife's behavior. "Honey, what are you doing?" He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her back into his chest. "Dude, you better keep your hands off my women!" he threatened.

Rosalie turned to her husband. "What the fuck is wrong with you? _Your_ women!" she demanded, shaking her arm free of his grasp as she turned back toward Edward. "Sorry, guess we should do this properly. I'm Rosalie McCarty," she shook Edward's hand. "Now, if you'll excuse us, I need to have a discussion with _this_ one." She hooked a thumb in the direction of Emmett. "Please have a beer and chat with everyone. We're good people here, _mostly…_" she mumbled under her breath as she turned and gripped Emmett's arm and dragged him away. "

Edward watched as the big man loitered behind his wife, looking like a child being taken to the woodshed.

"Sorry about that," he heard a soft voice say from beside him. He turned to the side and before him stood the woman of his fantasies. _Bella_. She was as beautiful close up as he knew she would be. The earlier moments in the pool slammed back into him—the feel of her legs and arms wrapped around him, the beating of her heart against his chest, the warmth of her breath across his face…the tightening of her nipples through her nearly transparent top.

He could feel his cock hardening in his board shorts, but images of his head being torn off by her _protector_ tamed his thoughts. _Slow and gentle…get to know Emmett and get on his good side, _then_ it will be easier with Bella,_ he reminded himself.

Edward took a deep breath, which was probably not the best thing after all, as he breathed in a pleasant scent of melon and cucumbers, which seemed to be coming from her. "That's…" he started, with a huskiness to his voice that caused him to clear his throat, "that's okay. _He has every right__ to be annoyed. I shouldn't have been standing so close to you when you stood up_. Are you okay? You didn't get hurt when we fell in the pool, did you?"

"No," she answered in a timid voice. "I'm fine. I probably would have fallen in on my own anyway." Bella's eyes roamed around, looking anywhere but directly at him. "I really do want to apologize, though, for Emmett's behavior. He's very protective of me. In truth, it's a little annoying, but I can't change him." She finally tilted her head up and looked Edward directly in the eyes. She could feel herself almost drowning in the pools of green before her, and her breath caught in her throat. "Excuse me." She suddenly turned and all but ran into the house.

"_Now_ what the fuck have you done?" Edward heard a deep Southern voice ask from behind him. He turned, and there stood Alice and her new _friend_.

**Uh oh! Is Edward EVER going to have a good time at this barbecue? **


	22. Chapter 22

RTR Chapter 22

DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns _Twilight_ and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!

****Hello all! No you're not imaging things. I am posting two chapters two weeks in a row. I'll do my best to continue on in that fashion, however, I have to tell you that riding season is upon us and the weather in the Midwest has been cooperating immensely with rides so my weekend free time is shortened. However, I am still putting things together in my head as we're cruising down the highway. Takes a bit though because I have to rewrite it when I get home!** **

**Thanks again to my wonderful friend and pre-reader – Caz (mwah) and to Jasper's Destiny for not giving me as much "red" this chapter! Hey maybe I'm getting better! **

After Rosalie left Bella's bedroom, Bella changed into the blue monokini she had purchased and took one final glance at her reflection in the full length mirror on the door. She wanted to be sure the suit she chose sufficiently covered her scars. There had been a couple of times when she'd thought they were adequately covered only to have them end up visible, which usually resulted in Emmett vehemently inquiring into them.

It was a year after she arrived that he first noticed them.

_Bella and Emmett were working in her flower garden. Bella stood and stretched, causing the t-shirt she wore to rise up. The expanse of skin between the shirt and the top of her low cut shorts became noticeably visible. _

"_What's that mark on your stomach, B?" Emmett asked. _

_Bella quickly pulled the shirt down, her grip on it so strong she almost stretched it out of shape. "Umm…it's nothing. I've had it for a while," she replied as she bent to pick up some flowers and moved to put a little space between her and her brother. She could never look him in the eye and lie. _

"_Bella, it didn't look like nothing to me, It looked like a letter—the letter J, to be specific. That asshole you were married to, his name started with an R." He narrowed his eyes, his gaze intent on her face. "Mother fucker! I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!" he bellowed as he sprang to his feet and turned to storm away in search of the "mother fucker". _

"_Whoa, wait a minute, Em," Bella called out, quickly following him. "What mother fucker are you talking about?"_

"_I'm talking about Jasper. Did he fucking mark you? Because I definitely saw something that looked like the letter J branded onto your stomach." He started toward his vehicle again, intent on finding Jasper._

"_Emmett, stop!" she cried out. _

_Emmett quickly turned on her. The look on his face was lethal. She had never seen him so enraged, and she immediately backed away from him. _

_That small movement, one that would have been missed by most people, was like a flashing beacon to him. It brought him back into the moment. He had never wanted to cause her fear. It was his job to protect her, not scare her. He took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and asked her as calmly as he could, "Bella, did Jasper do that to you?" _

"_No! No, Emmett, it wasn't Jasper, and please," she pleaded, "don't make me get into it. I just can't do it right now." _

"_Bella, I'll give you time to make the choice as to when you feel that you can trust me." The wording and the tone he used conveyed his disappointment in her decision of not trusting him. "But I'm telling you this: if I find out that Jasper is responsible for this, I will end him. I'll probably lose Rosalie if I do, but I won't put up with someone hurting you. I'm_ positive _your asshole ex-husband hurt you even though you won't tell me what happened." _

_Bella stood there with her mouth agape. She was shocked but not surprised at the words she heard. _

"_Emmett, you know Jasper," she said. "He's your best friend, and you're married to his sister, for Christ's sake! How can you say…how can you even think that?" _

"_Shit, Bella," he said, "I know that, but who can say he's not one of those closet Dominants trying to make you his submissive?"_

_The look on Emmett's face was one of sincere concern, but Bella couldn't help but hold back the laugh she felt building in her chest. She knew it wasn't the best way to react to his mood, but she couldn't help herself. The searing look thrown her way at her outburst showed that he didn't appreciate her humor on the subject. He was truly concerned about her well-being, and he didn't deserve to be laughed, at no matter how ludicrous his idea of Jasper being a closet Dom was._

"_Ah, Em," she said, trying to sooth his feelings, "has Rosalie been reading erotic fan fiction to you again?__" The glare he returned indicated he was not amused. "Really, Em, I'm all right." She placed a hand against his forearm as she tried to reassure him. "Jasper is not responsible, and he's never hurt me." _

_She was suddenly pulled into a hug that crushed her to his chest. "Lucky for him, because if he did, I'd have to remove his balls with a set of wire cutters." That caused Bella, even as a woman, to cringe. _

"_Air, Emmett, I need air!" she huffed out. He quickly set her down. __"Bella," he cupped her face in his large hands, "why won't you tell me what happened?" He put his forehead against hers. "Talk to me. Please." _

_She reached up and patted his large hands. "I…I can't, Emmett." She pulled away from him, her arms automatically wrapping around her stomach. "Not yet. Give me time, please," she pleaded. _

_Emmett breathed out a deep sigh. "I'll give you time, but I have to ask one more question. And don't be angry with me, okay?"_

"_Thank you," Bella said as she reached over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek for being so understanding. "What is your question?" _

"_I hate to ask this…" he began hesitantly. He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. "What was Jasper's reaction when he saw the scar?"_

_Bella's face immediately flushed. "What do you mean? What did I tell him? Why would I have to explain anything to him about my body?" _

"_Bella," Emmett said, shaking his head, "you do remember that you stayed with us for a while when you first got here, right?" _

_Oh, shit_._ Bella grabbed her cheeks and hung her head. _

"_Yeah." Her torture was just beginning. "The two of you weren't as _quiet_ as I suspect you thought you were."_

_Bella felt that if she could disappear under a boulder and live there for the rest of her life, she would. Suddenly she had an epiphany, something she could use to get even with Emmett and get him to shut up. _

"_Yeah, well, you and Rosalie aren't exactly church mice." The look on his face was exactly the reaction she was looking for. "Emmett, repeat after me," she said, as he continued to stare at her, dumb-struck. "Emmett, I'm talking to you." Bella waved a hand in front of his face. "Now, repeat after me: I, Emmett Swan McCarty, do solemnly swear…" _

_The look on his face was priceless. "What do you mean repeat after me?" he asked. There was no way in hell he planned on saying anything that might come back to bite him in the ass later. _

"_I want to make sure that what you heard will never be repeated to anyone. Now, repeat after me: I, Emmett Swan McCarty, do solemnly swear," Bella started again. With a shake of his head, Emmett followed her lead, repeating the words. _

"_That I will never openly discuss the voracious noises heard from our guest room…" He waggled his eyebrows at her before repeating her words. "Since the causer of such noises…" He barely held back a chuckle before he complied. _

"_Could report even more disgusting noises coming from the master suite," Bella finished. Emmett's eyebrows shot up into his hair line, and his mouth dropped open. He blinked at her a couple of times. "Say it, Emmett." Bella crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not kidding. You guys can be disgusting sometimes." _

_The little smirk on her face didn't escape his notice. "Fine, but this is not ending here, sis," he conceded. "Like I said, when I find out what happened, and who did it,__I will__have his balls." He lifted her into a tight hug after delivering his promise. He knew that she had been through a lot, but to be at least trying to smile showed him how much strength and endurance she had. _

"_Okay, bear. Need to breathe here!" _

A knock on her bedroom door brought Bella out of her thoughts. "Hey, Bella, you decent?" she heard Paul ask from outside her door.

She quickly walked over to the door and yanked it open. "Nope, naked as a jaybird!" His reaction was classic. Paul turned his head so quickly that she heard his neck pop, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Bella stood in the doorway and chuckled. He cautiously opened one eye to look at her. When he saw that she was, indeed, dressed—at least in a swimsuit—he opened the other.

"Damn, B! You can't do that shit to me!" He rubbed the back of his neck. "One of these days, my head's going to spin all the way off!"

"Ah, I'm sorry Paul," she said as she lightly punched his bicep, "but your reaction is too cute to stop doing it."

He glared at her and shook his head, then remembered his reason for searching her out. "Hey, I think you may want to hurry and get out to the pool pretty quick. Emmett's going into _bodyguard _mode, and if you want Edward to stick around, you had better get him under control." Seeing the shocked expression on her face at the mention of Emmett hassling Edward, he continued. "Yeah, I thought so. Edward's a good man, Bella," he said as he patted her forearm. "Give him a chance." Paul then turned and walked back out to the party.

She stood staring at Paul's retreating figure. He and Sam both had been her _champions _for so long when it came to men trying to win her over. They were always straightforward with her. If the guy was a douche-bag, they were pretty much able to tell from the get-go. And that had been a saving grace a number of times.

Bella squared her shoulders, pulled on her cover-up, slid on her sandals, and went into the kitchen where she grabbed the seven layer dip and chips. _Time to put on the big girl panties,_ she thought. She raised her chin and stepped out onto the patio.

She glanced around, looking for a head of copper colored hair, but he was nowhere to be found.

**Remember that reviews are the candy that keeps the kids coming back! **


	23. Chapter 23

**Good morning all and Happy Friday. I have chosen not to participate on any actions that are taking place today. I feel that we need to continue as we have. We'll just have to adjust if necessary. **

RTR Chapter 23

DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!

Bella stepped out onto the patio intent on finding Edward, looking around for a sign of the familiar bronze hair—hair that she imagined would feel like spun silk if she ran her hands through it. Those thoughts led to images of Edward's head bent and suckling between her breasts while she had a fist full of his silken hair in her hands. She quickly quashed that image. Suddenly, she heard Sam's voice. It sounded as though it were coming from around the corner of the house. Taking a quick glance around, she deduced that it must be Edward he was speaking with.

Bella made her way over to Emmett and Rosalie. She planned to set Emmett straight; Edward and his cousin had been invited to this barbeque, and since this was her house, she would be the one to determine if they were welcome or not. However, before she could reach them, a laugh that reminded her of a small girl at Disneyworld seeing Cinderella for the first time drew her attention elsewhere. Bella turned to the source of the sound and saw Jasper sitting with a small woman with short, dark hair. At first glance she appeared to be a young girl, but after observing Jasper's reactions she knew that wasn't the case. The man had stars shining in his eyes. She chuckled as she recognized who the woman was. She had no idea that the Miss Cullen, the tenant that Mrs. Cope kept raving about, would be the same woman that Jasper had been pining over when they were at _The Falcon_.

Bella walked over to where Jasper and Alice were sitting and introduced herself. "Hello," she said as she approached them, extending her hand. "I'm Bella Swan. I take it you're Miss Cullen? Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet at the signing."

The woman looked up at her and smiled as she extended her own hand. "Yes, I am. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. And I totally understand about having to miss things because of work."

Before Bella could ask Alice what she did for a living, her attention was drawn to the area across the patio where Emmett and Edward were visually squaring off with each other. "Oh, for crying out loud," she muttered. Excusing herself from Alice and Jasper, she made her way over to Emmett before he could start a real fight.

Before she could reach the two men, Rosalie had broken up the confrontation between them. Bella didn't know what Rosalie said to Emmett to get him to back down, but he looked like a child whose favorite toy had been taken away. That left Edward alone, standing in their wake.

Bella approached Edward slowly. She had no reason to fear him, but with everyone attacking him since his arrival, she didn't want him to get the impression that she would be the next to swing a verbal axe. . He turned to face her with a scowl upon his face. When he heard a small gasp escape her, his face softened, and the blazing green that she had seen in his eyes cooled to the color of moss. Bella tried to apologize for Emmett's behavior, but Edward shrugged it off. Suddenly being in his presence was too much for her system, and she had to escape. "Excuse me," she said as she quickly turned and headed back into the sanctuary of her home.

Once inside, she gripped the kitchen countertop and concentrated on slowing her breathing. A couple of minutes later, she felt calm enough to return to the party.

As she was filling a bowl with chips to take back out with her, she heard the patio door open and the sound of heavy footsteps approach. "Really, Em," she sighed, not turning around, "I'm not in the mood for your bullshit."

"Uh, Bella?" she heard a _silky _voice that definitely was not Emmett's say from behind her. She turned so quickly that some of the chips flew from the bowl onto the floor. Edward approached her where she stood rooted to the spot and knelt down to retrieve the chips from the floor.

As he knelt on one knee in front of her it afforded him a wonderful view of her slim ankles, which bloomed into toned dancer's calves. His line of vision followed to her firm but not overly muscular thighs. Before he stood up, he took a deep breath to clear his head. That was a colossal mistake. He swore he could almost taste her on his tongue. _Oh shit,_ he thought, _get it under control, Masen_. _Nothing like nearly attacking her in the pool then practically worshipping between her legs while you're on the floor._

He shook his head to clear it of his desires and finally stood up, placing the chips on the counter. When he turned to face her, he was surprised to see that her deep, chocolate brown irises had almost completely disappeared to black. Her chest heaved, like she couldn't get enough air in her lungs. Based on the gasp he heard from her, he was certain the darkness was caused by desire, and he was sure that his own pupils were just as dark.

He took a deep breath to calm himself before he spoke. "I wanted to come and introduce myself properly." He extended his hand. "My name is Edward Masen, and you are…?" he asked with a smirk.

Bella took a moment to focus on his hand. _For God's sake, Bella_, _it's not a snake,_ she thought before reaching out and timidly placing her hand in his. "Isabella Swan," she replied. Edward wrapped his long fingers around her hand. "Pleased to meet you."

As soon as their hands were firmly entwined, she felt a buzzing sensation run from where her hand was engulfed in his up to her elbow. Bella quickly pulled her hand out of Edward's grasp and flexed her fingers to try to get the feeling to dissipate. She quickly looked up at Edward's face and saw that he was gazing at his hand as if it wasn't his. The look on his face was one of total confusion. Bella wondered if he'd felt the same sensation.

He lifted his gaze back to her face. "I'm really sorry for startling you earlier," he said, "not only by the pool but just now as well."

"It's no big deal, really. And again, I'd like to apologize for my idiot brother Emmett," she said, shaking her head. "He can be a little overwhelming at times. He forgets that I'm a grown woman." An awkward silence fell between the two of them.

"So, anyway," he pulled his hand through his hair nervously, "I understand that we have some friends in common. Paul and Sam?"

Bella nodded in response.

"And Alice, who is my cousin, that I believe you met just now, is your new tenant." _For fuck's sake, why I am babbling like a teenager? _he thought. "So, I hope, um…I guess that we'll be seeing each other around the area," he said, with his head tucked down. _Geez, Masen, man up already. It's not like she's the first woman you've talked to._

"Yeah, I guess we could be running into each other often since the town really isn't _that_ big," Bella answered with a small laugh. The sound of her laugh was like a symphony to his ears.

Edward nervously shuffled his feet. "So, I guess I'll head back outside. I just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier."

Bella took a deep breath before she replied, "Thank you," and watched as he stepped back through the patio door. She turned and grabbed hold of the countertop and laid her head on the cool marble. Bella faintly heard the door open once again, but she didn't have the strength to stand upright. "What do you want, Em?" she mumbled, her face still pressed to the countertop.

"Actually, it's more a case of what _you_ want," she heard Jasper's smooth Southern voice reply.

Bella turned to look at her friend, someone she considered to be her best friend. She had never told him everything that had happened to her, but he had seen the scars and had been there during a couple of her nightmares. She took a deep breath in a futile attempt to choke back the tears. "I want what everyone else has, Jazz," she sobbed. "I want to be normal, to not have to relive a week of hell only to lose someone special."

Before she knew it, she was cocooned in the unbelievable strength of his arms. "B, honey," he whispered in her ear, "you really need to talk to someone."

"I _have_, Jasper," she sobbed against his chest, "and the nightmares continue."

He took a deep breath before he spoke because he knew what her reaction would be to his next suggestion. "Maybe you should talk to Emmett." He sighed. He really wished that she felt confident enough to confide in him, but he knew that the relationship she had with her brother was strong.

"Hmph!" she huffed. "I don't want to talk to him at all right now. He's acting like such an ass." Bella pulled out of his embrace and leaned back against the counter. Jasper opened his mouth to defend Emmett, but she cut him off. "No, Jasper, don't say anything to defend him." She stopped to take a deep breath. "He's done nothing but attack Edward since he arrived, and he did it for no reason! I'm a klutz, remember? I can trip on air!" She glared at Jasper as he chuckled under his breath. "Yes, Edward startled me, but it wasn't intentional, and I'm the one that caused us to fall into the pool. If anything, I should apologize to _him_."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You like him, don't you?" he asked. He could practically feel the instant attraction between the two of them. It had been evident the couple of brief times he had seen them interact.

Bella ran a hand down her face and groaned. "I don't know." Jasper raised an eyebrow at her answer. "Okay, fine, I _think_ I like him," she conceded. "There's something about him, Jasper, something that puts me on edge." She took a deep breath. "I'm not frightened of him, I'm confused."

Jasper turned to lean against the countertop next to her. "Well, I can tell you that his cousin has me completely in knots." He glanced over at her, not sure exactly how to proceed with the next part. "Bella," he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, "I know that we just met the two of them today, but . . ."

Bella watched as her normally calm, relaxed friend jumped and twitched as if he was being electrocuted. "Jasper, just come out and say it already, would you? You're making me a nervous wreck here!"

He took another deep breath. "Well, there's just something about her. I _know _I like her." He quickly glanced up to see Bella's reaction. He didn't want to hurt her.

Bella couldn't help but notice the gleam in his eyes. She hated the fact that he felt guilty about being so happy.

"I've, um," he quickly glanced at her again then turned away, "I've asked her for a date." His cheeks and the tips of his ears had turned pink. "I hope that's okay with you. I mean, I hope that won't cause any problem because she's your neighbor and tenant." Bella suddenly gasped, and he turned to look at her fully. "Shit, I'm sorry, Bella. Damn, I knew I shouldn't have," He pulled her into a tight hug, obviously thinking that she had a problem with him dating her tenant.

"No, Jazz…" she murmured against his chest. God, she felt like such a selfish bitch. Was she holding on to Jasper for her own peace of mind? She knew that they would never have a true relationship. He was her best friend, albeit a friend with benefits, but how many advances and interests of other, better suited women had he ignored because of her selfishness? "Jazz, it's okay," she reassured him. "She's seems really nice. I like her, and the two of you obviously like each other." She stepped out of his embrace and took his hands in hers. "I'm sorry if I've been holding you back in your personal life."

"God, no, Bella!" he exclaimed. He cupped her face in his hands. "You've never held me back. We've been here for each other all this time, but we both knew that we weren't _meant_ for each other. You are my best friend. I will always love you." He kissed her on the forehead. "Now, let's get this show on the road. What have you got ready for me? We should cook the ribs first." All further serious discussion was tabled.

**A/N Ahh poor Bella, don't worry. Jazz won't forget about her. Hope everyone's hungry! **


	24. Chapter 24

**Sorry for the delay on getting this posted. When you get to the a/n you'll understand why! **

**So, let's see how things go once the meat is on the fire! **

RTR Chapter 24

**DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!**

**Thanks again to my wonderful Beta's – Jen and Jasper's Destiny. This journey has been a long one but we'll get them together on the same car soon. **

=/=/=/=/=/=/=/

Bella followed Jasper out onto the patio. She noted that practically everyone was seated at the patio table, drinking and eating appetizers, with the exception of two people that she was certain would be here today, Sam's and Paul's girlfriends. "Hey guys," she said as she approached, "where are Emily and Sarah?" The two men hardly ever went out without their girlfriends by their sides.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Emily wanted to go to Naperville, to some boutique that was having a special one-day sale. She said something about picking up a few things for the honeymoon."

Bella snickered softly. She had a feeling she knew _exactly _which boutique the women were at, as she had received her own invitation to the sale from the store herself. _Oh, Sam, you may be disappointed now that she isn't here, but wait until the night of the wedding,_ she thought.

Bella grabbed a beer and sat on one of the loungers close to the table, watching as the group of people surrounding her interacted with each other. They all seemed to take an interest in getting to know Alice and Edward, except for one person. Emmett was still being an ass. His snide remarks and glares toward Edward were totally unacceptable. She decided to let it go for the moment, hoping that he would come around, but if things continued as they were, they would be having a talk.

After twenty minutes of observing death glares thrown in Edward's direction, she decided that enough was enough. She wasn't sure if Edward was aware of what was happening, or just unaffected by Emmett's actions, but it was time to put an end to it. "Emmett," she snapped at him. He jerked his head in her direction and flinched at the scowl on her face as she stood. "Come help me in the kitchen." The request was more stated than asked.

"Oh, I'd be happy to help!" Alice interjected, standing up.

Bella took a quick, deep breath. "No, that's fine, Alice. Why don't you stay out here and get to know everyone better." She didn't want to offend her, so she added, "Besides, Emmett knows _exactly_ what I need help with. We'll be right back." She glanced once more at Emmett then turned and walked into the house.

"Um…" Emmett swallowed thickly, "I'll be right back, guys." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. A quick glance to Rosalie and Jasper for support left him empty, as they both just shrugged his shoulders at him.

Emmett followed Bella into the kitchen unsure of what to expect from her. She had her back to the door but turned around when she heard him enter. "Shut the door, big brother," she seethed. "We're going to have a talk."

He shut the door as requested then turned to face her. Over the years he had seen many emotions cross her face, but never had he seen her look so furious before. "Bella…" he started.

"Just shut up, Emmett." She took a deep breath. "I've had it with your attitude today." Her aggravation was apparent, blazing out of her eyes. "I don't know what your problem is with Edward, but I'm sick of it." He opened his mouth to reply, but she quickly cut him off. "I am so mad at you right now that I could kick your ass into next Tuesday. Do you want to explain yourself?" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for an explanation.

Emmett knew he had no legitimate reason not to trust or like Edward, but there was no way he would admit that right now, so he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind, even though it made no sense. "He's weird and too pretty."

Bella's eyes grew wide, and then she bent over at the waist and burst into laughter. She remained that way until the tears streaming from her eyes stopped and the laughter subsided to where she could catch her breath. When Bella stood upright to compose herself, she caught sight of the aggravated look on Emmett's face and had to fight off a second round of giggles.

She wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and shook her head. "Emmett, what are you afraid of?" Rosalie had told her that ever since Emmett's birthday, he was for some reason becoming increasingly jealous and possessive for no reason. They had discussed it earlier in the week, and they chalked it up to his turning thirty. "Seriously, Emmett, what are you afraid of? Rosalie loves you. She would never cheat on you," she said, as she placed her palm on his cheek. "You've got to put this insane jealousy aside." Bella could never understand why Emmett found it hard to believe that the love he and Rosalie shared would be forever.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah, I know. I'm just praying she never comes to her senses and realizes that she would better off with someone else, unlike a football coach in a small town."

Bella couldn't help but stare at him, shocked. "Are you kidding me? You two are perfect together! She loves sports, so that part is a no brainer, and you're both into cars. I couldn't think of any two people more suited for each other." She looked closely at her brother. "_Wait_. You asshole…did you do something?" she demanded. "They always say that the guilty doubt the innocent."

"What? No! I love her too much to ever do anything like that to her or our relationship."

"Then pull your head out of your ass and realize that she would _never_ do that to you either," she replied. Now, please do me a favor and stop being such a douche toward Edward." She took a deep breath, hating to present him with her ultimatum. "If you keep acting like an ass, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"But, Bella, Rosalie and I—"

"I'm not talking about Rosalie leaving, Emmett. You're the one that has an attitude right now, and I won't put up with it."

He took a step back as if he had been slapped.

"Sam and Paul are friends of his. Jasper seems willing to give him a chance. Hell, even Rosalie showed compassion, which isn't something she usually does to strangers! Why can't you do the same?" Bella knew that she was putting her brother through hell, but she didn't care at the moment.

"Emmett, this is _my_ house. I will invite—and uninvite—anyone I want. I don't want to fight with you, but you must realize that even though you might think I'm unable to take care of myself, I _am_ capable of it." Bella hated the look of utter defeat on his face, but she needed to get the situation under control. "Now, please," she said softly, as she took his hand in hers, "play nice. This is my last day of vacation, and I want to enjoy it with all of you, without all of the drama." She squeezed his hand, indicating that even though she was still angry with him he would be forgiven.

"Okay, I'll try," he agreed, then looked into her eyes. "But he'd better watch it." Bella made another mental note to have a discussion with Rosalie. Something was definitely amiss.

"Now, if all the drama is over," she said, raising an eyebrow at him, "how about making yourself useful?" She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out two large trays of prepared burger patties and handed them to Emmett. "Tell Jasper that these," she pointed to the tray in his right hand, "are the pepper and onion burgers." She relished the look on his face. His mouth formed a grin, his dimples as deep as they'd ever been, and his eyes were as wide as a child's on Christmas morning. "And these are—"

"_Please_ tell me those are the pepper jack cheese burgers!" He was practically dancing on the balls of his feet, he seemed so happy.

She let out a chuckle, happy to see that he was beginning to chill out. "I'll bring the chicken out in a minute. Now, shoo! And behave!" And with that, she turned him and gave him a slight shove to move him toward the door.

She pulled out the bag of chicken that had been marinating in the refrigerator and was about to place it on a platter when she suddenly heard a soft voice behind her ask, "Can I help with anything?" The sudden appearance startled her, and she almost dropped the platter. _I swear, everyone's going to wear cow bells from now on,_ she thought. She turned toward Alice, who was timidly standing in the doorway, and smiled.

"Yes, that would be very helpful, thank you. Could you please take these out to Jazz?" She pointed to the chicken.

"Jazz?" A look of confusion washed over Alice's face. "Oh, you mean Jasper!" There was a twinkle in her eyes. "Oh, but I like the name Jazz, though!" she said, with a giggle. "Are there more people coming? Should I tell him to hold back on cooking some of the food?"

_Oh, you poor thing,_ Bella thought. _She is about to be subjected to quite the show. I shall teach you well, my young padawan._

"No," Bella replied, with a soft shake of her head, "he can cook everything, everyone's here."

And three, two, one…

"What?" Alice all but practically shrieked. "This is an awful lot of food for eight people."

"Well, I didn't know what y'all liked, so I have three different types of meat. I'm just hoping it's enough. You've never seen Emmett, Sam, and Paul eat," she forewarned her. "Just tell Jasper what you and Edward want, and he'll make sure that you get it. Oh, hell, y'all do eat meat, right? I hadn't even thought that either of you might be vegetarian."

Alice picked up the second use of the expression y'all. It's not something commonly heard in the Midwest but thought no further about it as she made to grab the platter and answer Bella.

"Oh, yeah, we're meat eaters, for sure. Edward has a pretty voracious appetite as well. Thank you, again, for the warm welcome you and everyone have shown," she said. "The house is beautiful, and I look forward to living here. I hope this is something we can do often together…" she added as she grabbed the platter of chicken and headed back outside. Alice truly did like everyone she had met today, and she hoped that there would be more get-togethers such as this.

"I hope so, too," Bella whispered to herself, as she pulled two huge bowls of potato salad from the refrigerator then stepped through the patio door. Once outside, she noticed his green eyes staring at her before he quickly turned away. A slight shiver ran up her spine. "I surely hope so, too," she repeated.

**A/N – Greetings everyone. Thanks for sticking with me on this journey. Sorry that there hasn't been many updates. The weather has been perfect in the Midwest for motorcycle riding and being activities director for the group I belong to – my weekend time gets cut into, but believe me – I think up as much storyline on the back of that vibrating machine as I can! **

**Another thing – this next week's chapter will be delayed – hopefully not as long as I had an unexpected trip to the emergency room Monday morning. I was in hospital until Friday night and I'm trying to catch up. Be sure to continue to follow on. Maybe Edward will come visit me! **


	25. Chapter 26

**Hello all! Sorry for the delay in this posting. There have been a number of things keeping me from writing like I planned. **

**It's summer so it's riding season. Anyone with a bike (Harley / Honda anything) will understand. Plus I ended up in the hospital for a week and then recovery for another week. I don't plan on being five weeks behind in posting again! Hope that everyone has decided to continue this trip! **

**All of that said, I really give high praise to my pre-reader Caz and my Beta's Jen and Jasper's Destiny! These ladies have been the best to me. No telling what you'd be reading without their input! **

**RTR Chapter 25**

**DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!**

Bella set the two bowls of potato salad on the table and picked up a couple of the dishes from the appetizers. "Sam," she said and waited until he acknowledged her. "Earn your keep. Grab a couple of these dishes and help me bring the rest of the salads out."

She saw Edward begin to stand up and guessed he was about to assist. "Don't even think about it, Edward. You're a guest here," she said as she turned her gaze and glared at Emmett. "Sam and Paul eat here so often I have to get some kind of repayment."

"Hey, Bella," she heard Sam say as he went about picking up dirty plates and platters. "Please tell me that you made the corn salad."

_God! These men and their food fascinations,_ she thought. With a small chuckle and a shake of her head, she answered him. "Yes, Sam, corn salad, and the ramen noodle salad as well." As she turned from the table, she heard the distinct sound of two hands slapping together and a resounding, "_Yes!"_ coming from both Sam and Paul.

Later, after all the salads and side dishes were placed on the table, which looked like it was about to collapse from the shear amount of food on it, Jasper announced that the meats were ready to be dished up as well. Everyone gave him their preference, and he dished up the rest of their plates. For the next ten minutes or so the only sounds to be heard were the scraping of utensils against plates and low moans of appreciation.

"Oh my God, Bella," Paul mumbled around a mouthful of burger. "These fucking burgers are to die for." He swallowed. "And the potato salad. This batch is one of your best ones yet." She heard groans of agreement from around the table.

"Yes, Bella," Alice said. "I've never had potato salad like this before." She hummed in appreciation as she put another small forkful in her mouth. "Where did you get it?"

Bella bowed her head as she felt a blush wash over her cheeks. She had always been confident in her culinary skills, and frequently received compliments from her family and friends, but for some reason earning the praise of Alice—and hopefully Edward—at that moment was important to her.

"Thank you," Bella replied. "It's fried potato salad. I saw it on a cooking show and kept making it until I got it exactly the way we all like it."

"Well, you'll definitely have to give me the recipe. For the burgers as well," Alice continued. "I don't think I've ever had a stuffed burger before. Have you, Edward?"

As he had not contributed much to any of the conversations taking place around the table since the food had been laid out, Bella was anxious to learn if he was as impressed with the simple meal as everyone else was. As she turned in his direction, the sight and sounds coming from his end of the table were almost her undoing.

Edward had the remainder of a burger in one hand while the other held a fork of ramen salad. His eyes were closed, and he had a content, almost fulfilled look on his face. A low groan escaped from him, which seemed to draw the attention of the rest of the people around the table. A second later another groan escaped his lips, and an intense ache shot between Bella's legs akin to a jolt of electricity. _Hell,_ she thought, _if he looks like that while enjoying a burger, I can only wonder what his face looks like when he's in the throes of ecstasy._

She was brought out of her reverie by Emmett's voice. "Dude! Either you were _really_ enjoying that burger or you were remembering a good fuck!" He cocked his head to the side and eyed him warily. "And I seriously hope that it's the former."

Edward's eyes popped open in surprise and flashed toward Emmett. He shrugged his shoulders and mumbled out, "Umpf. Fff's defisus." Then his glaze landed on Bella. He could see the quick rise and fall of her chest and the slightest hint of color over her cheekbones.

"Wow, so elegantly put, Edward," Alice said with a smirk.

He finished chewing and swallowed. "Please accept my apologies. What I said was, it's delicious." Then he quickly averted his eyes from Bella. It wasn't that he didn't mean the compliment in all sincerity, but he was embarrassed by his behavior. He had acted like a starved man being led to a buffet. He couldn't determine if Bella was embarrassed by the noises he hadn't even been aware he was making. The food was just _that_ fucking good.

Bella wasn't insulted when he looked away. As a matter of fact, she was grateful for it. She was certain that the look on her face would have shown the desire she felt just by watching him enjoy his meal.

"Well, Masen," Emmett called out to him again, "good burger _or_ . . .?" Emmett glared at him until Edward could feel small beads of sweat breaking out onto his forehead.

_What is up with this asshole?_ Edward thought. He involuntarily flinched when Emmett's large hand clamped down on his shoulder and the man let loose the loudest laugh Edward had ever heard.

"Welcome to the club, fucker," he heard Emmett say as he picked up his and Edward's cups and stood. "Anyone else need a refill?" Emmett asked before he walked away.

Edward stared slack-jawed at Emmett's retreating form, not sure what to make of what had just occurred. He turned his gaze to Sam, who gave him a slight nod then mouthed, "_You're getting there."_ Somewhat comforted by Sam's appraisal of Emmett's reaction, Edward returned to his meal.

"Really, Bella," Alice said, "this food is awesome. Did you take culinary classes?"

"Oh, no," Bella replied. "It's just some things that I made up on my own and others I've seen on the Food Network."

"Well, I'd like to get the recipes from you . . ." Edward watched Alice and Bella interact. He was happy to see that his cousin seemed to be fitting right into the mix of people that were present. He only hoped that he could as well. A few moments later Emmett set a fresh beer in front of him along with a tray of shot glasses and a bottle of Patrón.

"Who's up for a blast?" Emmett bellowed. "Bells?" He cocked an eyebrow in Bella's direction, a full shot glass raised in his hand

"Ugh! Emmett, I told you that today's my last day of vacation. I have to be at the station early tomorrow."

"Aww, come on, Bella!" Sam, Paul, and Emmett pleaded in unison. "One won't hurt," Emmett said as he handed her a glass that was full to the rim. "Besides, you have to toast the opening of the pool."

"Fine," she conceded. "I'll have one shot, and only one. And you guys better not get wasted. When it's time for you to go later, you have to go. No spending the night tonight."

Emmett was busy pouring and passing the glasses around, nodding in acceptance of her conditions. "Sure, Bella, no problem." He handed the last glass to Edward. "Need any salt and lime with that, pal?" he asked.

"No training wheel needed here," Edward responded.

"Well, here's to good food, good friends, and a good summer," Bella toasted. Her gaze swept over to Alice's and Edward's locations as she said _friends_, hoping that it would come true.

"Hear, hear!"Everyone chorused as they raised their shot glasses in the air.

Moments later a huge wave of water washed over the edge of the pool. Bella turned to see that Sam and Paul were both in the water trying to dunk each other. She guessed that Paul had tackled Sam, which he had been threatening to do so since their arrival.

"Well, I guess it's time to open the pool," she said with a chuckle before removing her cover up. She thought she heard a low growl from behind her, but when she turned around, all she saw was Edward walking away toward the beer kegs.

"Who's up for water volleyball?" Sam hollered from the pool, where he was currently dunking Paul.

"I'm in," Emmett chimed in. "Jasper, are you playing?"

"Nah, I'm good for now," Jasper replied. There was no way he was going to allow himself to be pulled from Alice's side for quite some time.

Emmett looked to Bella to see if she would be joining the game. "Yeah. Not happening, Em. I'm just going to sit on my float and enjoy the show," she replied as she grabbed a float lounger and walked into the pool.

"Rosalie, hon, you want to play with me?" he asked as he turned to his beautiful girl. He knew she would most likely be joining Bella on her own float, or lying out and soaking up some sun, as his golden goddess usually enjoyed doing.

"Not this time, dear." She slathered suntan oil on her arms. "You know I have to get a good base tan before we go to Acapulco."

"Well, I guess that leaves you as my team mate," he said, turning toward Edward. "Are you game?"

Edward looked around, but it appeared that he was the person that Emmett was addressing. He nodded his head in Emmett's direction then pulled his t-shirt off and over his head. As he did so, he swore that he heard a light gasp, but when he turned around, there was no evidence of where the sound had come from.

Sam and Paul had pulled a net across the shallow end of the pool and were practicing shots back and forth across the net. Bella was on a float in the deeper end of the pool. She gasped lightly as she inconspicuously watched as Edward stripped off his shirt, revealing the washboard abs and chiseled chest she had seen once before. As he approached the pool, she further appreciated the way his board shorts hung low off the obvious masculine V of his hips, revealing a light splattering of auburn colored hair below his navel leading into the waistband of his shorts.

The four men played an intense game of volleyball. At one point when Sam served the ball, it travelled over Edward's head, so he feigned backward to recover. In doing so, he stumbled back into Bella, sending her tumbling from her float. "Sorry." He gripped her waist to pull her back up to the surface then lifted her back onto the float. "We really have to stop meeting like this," he said with a lopsided grin before swimming back over to the game.

The rest of the day was very challenging for Bella. She reverted back to her days of waitressing as she found herself looking for more excuses to pull herself out of the pool to ensure everyone, especially Edward, had a beverage. The few times that she tried to engage him in conversation proved to be challenging. He would either give single word responses or she was convinced that he pretended not to hear her. At other times, though, he would approach her and strike up a conversation about the vaguest of topics. Earlier in the day she was convinced that Edward had initially appeared attracted to her, then seemed cold, then attracted again. The whiplash effect was wearing on her.

By the end of the day, the group had eaten pretty much all of the burgers and salads, and both kegs were floating lightly in the tubs in which they sat.

"Well, Bells," Emmett said with a yawn as he stretched and kissed the top of her head, "guess it's time for us to head out. I'll be by tomorrow to pick up the kegs for return. Hey, Rose, we have any pizza leftover from dinner?"

"Geez, Emmett, didn't you get enough today?" Bella heard her reply.

"Never enough, hon! Don't forget I'm a growing boy!" He patted his stomach.

As Emmett and Rosalie bade their farewells, Sam and Paul seemed to realize how late it had gotten and decided to make their way home as well. Ever mindful of Bella's generosity, they grabbed some of the dishes and took them into the kitchen. When they came back out, they thanked Bella for an extremely enjoyable day then bid their goodbyes. Alice, Jasper, and Edward pitched in to help with the cleanup as well.

"Bella," Alice said as she set the dishes she was carrying on the countertop. "I just want to say thank you again for today. You've made me feel very welcome." Bella was then pulled into one of the strongest embraces she could ever remember getting.

"Same here, Bella," she heard Edward say. He held out his hand to her as she pulled herself from Alice's clutches.

"I had a great time as well." When their hands connected, she felt a shock run from her fingertips down to her toes.

She woke the next morning ready to face another day. As she stood on the platform waiting for passengers to load, she immediately recognized a familiar car in the parking lot and looked around for its owner. Her search ended as her gaze landed on one of her favorite passengers standing alongside Edward. _Today's going to be a long ride,_ she thought.

**A/N – if anyone's interested in the salad recipes (yes they're real) let me know! **


	26. Chapter 27

A few people asked for these recipes so I thought I'd just load them up here. Enjoy!

I don't have a hard copy of the potato salad - never got it from Triple D, so I kind of made up my own.

CORN SALAD – Makes about 8 servings 

1 bag of frozen corn (let thaw)

¾ cup chopped tomato

½ cup chopped green pepper

½ cup chopped celery

¼ chopped onion

¼ cup prepared ranch salad dressing

In a large salad bowl, combine vegetables, stir in dressing. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

RAMEN NOODLE SALAD – Makes about 8 servings 

2 PKs Chicken Ramen Soup

1 PK cole slaw mix

1 PK slivered almonds

1 PK diced chicken (optional)

Break up noodles in large bowl – add ingredients – mix together. (I usually use a bowl with a lid – cover and shake method works really well for mixing)

In a small bowl mix ¾ cup oil, 5 tablespoons vinegar, 3 teaspoons sugar and seasoning from ramen noodles. Pour over noodle mixture. (cover and shake)

Refrigerate for 2 hours

FRIED POTATO SALAD – Makes about 8 servings 

Cut 4 large russet potatoes into chunks – coat with water then dredge lightly with a lightly salted flour mixture

Deep fry potatoes until done – they should be lightly browned – drain well.

Place in bowl

Add the following then mix well

¾ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup mayo (to taste)

¼ cup mustard (to taste)

Salt and pepper (to taste)


	27. Chapter 28

**Riding the Rails**

**Chapter 26**

**Hello all. Sorry for the delay in posting. I've been busy during the weekends and hate to use the usual excuse by real life has made a definite appearance. **

**Thanks again to three wonderful people who continually straighten my crap up so that you don't read a paragraph, scratch your head and say "WTF?" Mwah – kisses to Caz; Jen and Jasper's Destiny! **

**DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!**

After helping Bella clean up from the party, Alice and Edward once again thanked her and bid her good night before going over to Alice's side of the duplex.

Before entering the house, Edward turned and gazed at the pool. He wanted to commit to memory the feel of Bella's arms and legs wrapped around him, albeit accidentally, as well as the feel of her warm breath as it washed over his face in exclamation. He grinned as he remembered the second time he had his hands around her waist. Her skin was silky soft there, and he could only imagine how soft it would feel against his lips. He looked down at his hand—the same one that had felt an electric shock when he'd grasped her hand earlier before bidding her good night. Every bit of his skin tingled at the memory.

"Edward," Alice called from inside the house, "do you want to stay and watch a movie_?"_

He glanced at his watch and noticed that, technically, it was still early. It was only nearing eight-thirty, but he knew that he should head home. He took one last look at the pool, discreetly adjusted his cock, which had been at half-mast all day, and walked inside. "Nah, not tonight. I'm really kind of tired, but I'll take a rain-check, okay?" Truthfully, he wanted to get home and get some relief from the hard-on he had been fighting to restrain all day. "Are you going to be all right here tonight, squirt?" he asked as he pulled her in for a good night hug.

"Yes, of course. I'm going to sleep like the dead after today." She stepped back from his embrace and focused on his face. "What about you? It's not going to be too lonely in that big house of yours, is it?" She was concerned about him being alone. Ever since they were young, Edward had always enjoyed his alone time, but lately he seemed to enjoy—even crave—having another person around.

Edward let out a sigh as he considered his answer. _Would he be all right now that he realized he would be by himself? The house would be dark and empty when he returned home from work tomorrow._ Looking down at the spitfire who had brought so much life into his home for the time that she'd been there, he knew that it would be difficult. It would take time to get used to it, but he felt confident that he would persevere. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll be okay." Then with a smirk on his face he added, "There's been a constant chattering noise around the house, but I noticed it wasn't as loud this morning." He stepped back when she tried to slap him in the stomach.

"Constant chattering, my ass!" Alice snarled as she swung her hand at him again. "You just remember that when you have to cook your own dinner tomorrow night!" She couldn't help but notice the way the smirk fell from his face at her comment, and she instantly felt bad for the remark. "Hey…" She grabbed his hand and pressed a spare key into his palm. "You can always come over any time, you know that, right?" Alice knew that she would welcome the company as well. As much as she wanted to be on her own again, she had grown accustomed to sharing space with Edward.

He opened his hand, glanced at the key sitting in the middle of his palm, and closed his eyes. Traitorous tears threatened behind his lids. He blinked a couple of times then pulled Alice in for a fierce hug. "What would I do without you, squirt?"

"I don't know, but I hope we never find out," she answered with a sniffle. "Now, head home. You've got to get up early in the morning and I've got to work on rearranging my closet." She all but pushed him out the front door without waiting for a reply.

When he turned to wave good night, he noticed the curtains at Bella's living-room window flutter as if they were suddenly shut. _Hmm,_ he thought, _was she watching for me to leave?_ The prospect gave him hope.

As Edward pulled up to his house he sighed loudly. It seemed that even the house already missed Alice's presence. There was soft lighting showing through the windows from a few of the rooms, but the life behind that light was missing. _Damn you, pixie,_ he thought as he pulled fully into the garage for the first time in months. He paused as he put the car into park. _Well, at least I've got my garage back_. When Alice had been living with him, the garage had become a virtual storage unit. She'd insisted that her vintage 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet be garaged because heaven forbid anything happen to it. The remainder of the two-car garage was filled with various items she had brought with her from Galena, such as dress forms and swatches of material. They had bickered at each other an entire day that she needed to get a storage unit, but she argued that all of the items needed to be immediately available to her. He gave in but had planned to approach her about it again soon. To think about it now made him thoroughly melancholy.

Climbing out of the Volvo and stepping through the garage access door into the kitchen, he deposited the container of leftovers that Bella had insisted he take into the refrigerator and grabbed a beer from the shelf inside. He then made his way into the living room. It was getting late in the evening, but he couldn't shut his mind down on the events of the day, so he picked up the television remote and flipped through the channels. "Typical, one hundred-eighty channels and not a fucking thing on_,"_ Edward mumbled as he turned to a musical station and tossed the remote onto the couch next to him. Leaning back against the cushions, he raised the beer bottle to his lips as Def Leppard's _Pour Some Sugar on Me_ came through the speakers. "Fuck me!"he moaned out loud.

The memory of seeing Bella dancing through her window, and the sensuality of the dance when he had come up on the scene as the song was ending, was his undoing. Unconsciously, he started rubbing on his erection—an erection that was now very prominent and, given its confines, causing a bit of discomfort. He tried to imagine what _her _sugarwould taste like. _Would it be sweet, as she seemed to be?_ He closed his eyes and let the music wash over him as he slowly unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. The relief from the pressure caused him to hiss slightly, but he needed more—more freedom for the aching flesh between his legs. He pushed the waistband of his boxers down, releasing the final restraint on his cock. His breath came out in pants and he imagined that the sounds were actually coming from Bella. He brushed his hand across the head of his penis, spreading the drops of pre-cum along his palm. He then wrapped his hand around the shaft and stroked slowly up and down. In his mind's eye he pictured Bella's small hand performing this act instead of his. At that thought, he could feel himself getting incredibly harder, and he stroked faster.

He recalled the feel of her breasts pushed against his chest in the pool. He imagined her naked and the tug of his chest hairs as they dragged across her taut nipples. A low moan escaped his lips when he felt tension building in his balls. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer, but he wanted to make it at least to the end of the song. In his mind, he pictured Bella dancing; she had one of her legs wrapped around the pole and she was momentarily hanging upside down, her long brown hair brushing the floor, before she righted herself and spun around on the pole. The speed of his hand increased and his grip tightened, squeezing the head a bit as he reached it on the upstroke. As the song ended, he felt the familiar tingling in his gut, and after one last, long stroke, his breathing hitched and he was hit with one of the most explosive orgasms he had ever experienced. He continued to lightly stroke his cock as hot streams of his release hit his abdomen. His head slammed into the back cushion as he tightly squeezed his eyes closed. _What the fuck was that? _he thought.

After a few moments of deep breathing, he opened his eyes. The feel of cold wetness against his leg brought him back into focus. He looked next to him and saw that he had dropped the beer that he'd previously been holding and it had spilled out. "Son of a bitch," he cursed while pulling his t-shirt over his head to wipe the liquid off of the leather couch. "Shit, shit, shit," he muttered as he mopped up the beer as fast as possible. "Oh, man, when Alice sees this she's going to have my balls in a vice." Even though it was _his_ furniture that was most likely ruined, she had been adamant on how to treat and clean the leather.

Satisfied with the results of wiping the beer up, he turned off the television and tossed his shirt in the trash. He didn't even want to think about putting a spunk-covered, beer-soaked shirt in the wash with the rest of his clothes. Turning off the lights, he made his way upstairs to his bedroom, the quietness of the house settling around him. He really missed Alice, and it had only been one day. Even though the house was eerily quiet, exhaustion from the day overcame him and sleep came easily.

The next morning, Edward arrived early to the station. He wanted to meet up with Harry and try to get a bit more information about Bella. He was curious to learn more about her. He wanted to see how different she was from the woman in the bar to the one he met yesterday.

"Hello, Harry," he said as he approached where Harry was standing at the furthest edge away from the tracks. The train was due to pull into the station shortly, so there were quite a number of passengers milling about. Harry tilted his head to the side with a look of confusion on his face, but it quickly changed into one of recognition.

"Ah, the young man that kept the train waiting for me when that _asshole_ conductor didn't seem to be interested in doing so," he said as he stuck his hand out in greeting. "Edward, right?"

Edward chuckled as he gripped the man's outstretched hand, surprised at the firmness of the shake. "That's right. How have you been?" He wanted to dive directly into questions about Bella but knew that it would raise suspicion on Harry's part if he did.

"Busy chasing fish, son, and yourself? Do anything exciting over the weekend…maybe hit the beach or something?" Harry noticed that Edward seemed to have a bit more color to his skin than the last time he had seen him.

"Nothing too exciting," he replied. "I helped my cousin move out of my place into her own this weekend."

"Now, would that be that dark haired munchkin I've seen drop you off a couple of times? Thought for sure that was a girlfriend," Harry said with a devilish look in his eyes. _Hmm, wonder if Bella knows it's not his girlfriend,_ Harry thought. He had seen some of the looks she had given him and hoped that they would meet up again.

"Yeah, she's out on her own now. But at least she's close by so we can keep in touch." Edward said, louder as the train was coming into the station. Harry didn't make any move to step closer to the loading area, so he stayed back with him as well.

When the doors opened Edward watched as Bella climbed down from the car to the loading platform and stepped aside to let the passengers on. Edward noticed the way that she interacted with a number of the passengers, and there seemed to be quite a few that she knew by name and vice versa. She would laugh at jokes or comments made by a few as they boarded.

A young mother with two toddlers approached the train, and it was obvious she was trying to figure out how she was going to climb up the steps while balancing two children and a fold-away stroller with her bags as well. Bella stooped down to pick up one of the children, a boy with a mop of blond hair. He laughed in her arms as she tickled his sides and blew a raspberry on his chubby cheek. Edward watched her interacting with the child and saw the merriment sparkle in her eyes.

The mother climbed up as Bella turned and placed the young boy on the second step, ruffling his hair after letting him go. "You mind your mom on the train, Bobby," Edward heard her say.

"Bewwa, I'll be good," the boy said, "if you tell Gawet I want to hear the whistle a lot today, okay?" Then he turned and followed his mom into the family car. Bella shook her head in disbelief.

As the crowd continued to load onto the train, Edward and Harry moved closer, but Edward noticed that Harry continued to lag behind. Soon there were only a few people left on the platform, and Bella looked around to see who remained. Her gaze landed on Edward and her eyes widened, the corner of her mouth lifting in a slight smile. She then turned her attention to Harry. "Come on, Harry, hustle!" she said with a nod toward the train doors.

A low chuckle came from beside Edward and he turned in surprise. _The sly devil,_ he thought._ He deliberately walks slow so she has to address him personally. I'll have to keep an eye on him. _

"Good morning, Bella," Edward said as they reached the train. "I almost didn't recognize you with clothes on." Bella gasped, and Harry choked on his breath at the implications of the statement Edward had just made. His eyes widened as he realized how what he said must have sounded. "Oh, shit, that totally came out wrong! I just meant it's the first time I've seen you in your uniform." _Damn, how can I fix this?_ he thought. "Alice and I had a great time at the pool yesterday," he continued, hoping that would explain what he meant by seeing her less dressed. He could feel his cheeks flaming, and Harry's stare was burning into the side of his skull. _Guess I'll have some explaining to do once we're aboard._

"Yes, it was fun," Bella replied. She had no idea what else to say and caught on that he was absolutely mortified at what he had just implied. "We'll all have to do that again some time." She looked around and saw that Billy was giving her the signal that the train needed to get going. "We really need to get on board and get going now."

She turned to let the men on. Edward stepped aside at the same time to allow Bella to board first. "You need to get on first, Edward." She laughed as she pointed up the steps. "I have to board last and give the all-clear," she explained. "But I appreciate the gesture."

She watched as he climbed up the steps, the material of his pants tightening against his thighs as he bent his legs, and then as he reached the top step she could see the firmness of his ass. Suddenly he turned, as if he sensed her watching him, and she was caught in full ogle. He smirked at her as a sudden blush spread across her cheeks. He then turned and walked into the car with a more confident step to find Harry.

**A/N: Peeking out from under the covers. Hopefully everyone enjoyed Edward's little, **_**ahem, **_**appreciation of music. I know I did! :o **

**Have to share that Edward's comment about seeing her in clothes actually happened to me. I was at the gym in the morning, went to work, then a client came in to the hotel to book a conference room. He was meeting with one of the catering managers and kept looking out to where I was sitting outside the office. When he got ready to leave, he looked at me and said "Wow, you look different with clothes on." Needless to say, I had an immediate meeting with the catering manager (my boss) to explain that as soon as the guy left. **


	28. Chapter 29

Riding the Rails

CHAPTER 27

**DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!**

_Damn,_ Bella thought as she climbed the steps into the train's vestibule before leaning out and giving the all clear. _He just _had_ to turn at that moment and catch me staring at his ass._ She had never been covert in her appraisal of a man, but there was something about Edward that made her hesitant.

Bella's normal routine of checking for tickets would be to start in the front car; however, that was where Harry and Edward were, and she wasn't ready to face Harry's inquisitive looks. She peered through the window of the door and saw the back of Harry's head. Directly across from him sat Edward, facing the door. She watched Edward's expressions, which ranged from embarrassment to amusement, as he talked to her old friend, and she found herself curious as to what they were discussing.

As if he could sense her staring at him, yet again, his eyes flicked up and their eyes met. His mouth spread in a smile, only to disappear when he saw the hesitation on her face. "Oh, shit," he muttered as he watched her turn away toward the other car.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked when he saw the despondent look on Edward's face. He turned just in time to see Bella stepping into the other car. "Hmm, that's strange. She usually starts in here." He turned his gaze back to Edward and narrowed his eyes. "Maybe you should elaborate on that comment you made earlier. It seems to have upset her in some way." He crossed his arms and sat back in his seat, indicating that he was settling in for a story.

Edward scrubbed his hands over his face then collapsed back in his seat. Letting out a sigh, he bowed his head. "Remember earlier when I said that my cousin moved out this weekend? She's renting one side of a duplex, and it turns out that Bella is her landlady. Not only that, but she lives in the other unit of the duplex." He quickly looked up at Harry to gauge his reaction. "We didn't know who she was until we showed up at the welcome party that Bella decided to have for Alice." He took a deep breath. "The invite said it was a pool party, so naturally we were all in swimsuits. Hence the comment about her having on more clothes than when I last saw her. It wasn't meant to be crude."

Harry had watched Edward's face as he told his story and could see that he sincerely hadn't meant for the comment to sound as it did, so he was anxious to see Edward's reaction to his next comment. "_Everyone_ was swimming this weekend?" he asked. He chuckled at the confused look on Edward's face when he nodded his head. "Well, that means that she saw _you_ in less clothes as well!" He couldn't help but laugh lightly as Edward's eyes widened in realization. "Yet she mentioned nothing of that fact to you."

Edward dropped his head. He truly felt like a heel for his comment, afraid that he had just put himself back two steps in regards to a chance with Bella.

"Don't worry, kid," he heard Harry say. "She noticed; she just didn't say anything." When Edward looked up, he was surprised by the huge grin that Harry had on his face.

"She's a nice girl," Edward said.

"No," Harry said firmly. "She's a nice _woman_." He couldn't help but notice the way Edward shifted in his seat. "Ask her out."

"No, I don't think so—at least not yet. We just met, really." Still, he wanted nothing more than to take her out, to have her on his arm for the evening. "Sam said I should bide my time."

"Pfft. It's never too early!" Harry admonished. "What are you waiting for? If you wait too long, someone else may come around and then where would you be?" He leaned forward and clasped his hands together.

"But Sam said—"

"Sam is her friend, and a very protective one at that. He doesn't want to see her get hurt again._"_ He held up his hand to halt Edward's rebuttal. "And before you get defensive, I don't know you, but from the small amount of time that I have, I can tell that you're a good person. I don't think you're capable of destroying anything as fragile as her." He was surprised to see a small blush cross over Edward's features.

The announcement for Geneva Station came over the speaker. "Ask her out," he said again, placing his hand on Edward's shoulder and looking at him as a father would a son. "Ask her out, and do it quickly," he repeated as he stood up. "Oh, and tell Bella that I'll see her on the ride back". He walked through the vestibule doors and onto the platform. Edward caught sight of him as the train departed the station and saw Harry mouth the word _soon_ to him.

During the remainder of the trip, Edward continued to gaze out the window lost in thought. Thankfully, his was the last stop because he had not been paying attention to any of the other stops. His mind was a jumble. He was questioning himself and contemplating Harry's words. _I've only known her for one day. How will she react if I ask her out? _Is_ it too soon? _He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear his name being called until a hand was laid softly on his shoulder. He turned and looked up into a face he wasn't expecting. Bella stood next to him, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Edward, I sure hope you have a ticket." She tilted her head to the side. "I'd hate to have to red-light you," she joked. The confused expression on his face brought a few giggles from her as she pulled out her ticket puncher and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, ticket. Right…" Edward floundered. "It's right here". He opened the flap on his briefcase and pulled out his ticket. As he closed the flap, Bella noted the letters ETM etched into the leather.

She became curious as to what his middle name was. For some unexplained reason, her thoughts immediately went to _Star Trek_. James T Kirk came to mind, and the name _Tiberius _flittered through her head. She thought of the most recent _Star Trek_ movie she had seen, which starred, for a very short time, Chris Hemsworth as James Kirk's father.

"Um, Bella…?" Edward's voice brought her out of her musing. "You wanted my ticket?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you." She saw that he had a monthly pass, and that gave her hope that she would be seeing him on the train more often. "Make sure that you pull that out as soon as you come onboard," she advised. "I may not always be the one checking the car that you're in." In her mind, though, she would always make a conscious effort to ensure that she was. "Oh, and be sure you remember to take it with you. You'll have to purchase a new one if it gets lost."

"Yes, ma'am." He gave her a smile to indicate that he was playing around. He was just working up the courage to ask her out for a drink when the radio at her hip crackled, interrupting the moment of opportunity.

"_Swan, this is Billy. Do you read?"_ They both jumped at the sound of the deep voice coming over the radio.

"Yes, Billy," she said after raising the radio.

"_We've got some rowdy ones in Car Three," _came the crackly response. "_I'm heading that way now. Meet me there_."

"Okay, I'm on my way."

"See you later, Edward," she said as she turned to walk away.

He couldn't let her go just yet. He was concerned about her safety. Lightly gripping her forearm, he was once again surprised at the firmness of her body. "Are you going to be okay going in there?" he asked.

Bella looked down at his hand then up into his worried face. She laid her own hand on top of his, enjoying the feel of his skin against hers. "Edward," she said with a light laugh, "it's not like I'm going into battle. I'm sure it's only some teenagers heading down to the lake. It happens all the time," she assured him before heading off to the rowdy car.

For the remainder of the trip, Edward waited for Bella to return to the car. He even looked out the window when they reached the next station to see if he could see her. When they reached the station after that, the train was met by a police car and an ambulance. He felt panic envelop him. Was she injured? Had one of the teenagers done something to her? Was her injury Billy's fault for bringing her into a dangerous situation? If any of these were true, he would make them pay.

When the train finally reached Ogilvie Station in Chicago, he quickly exited the train and looked around for Bella. He saw her emerge from four cars away. As he walked toward, her he noticed that her hair, which had been up earlier, was now down and flowing across her shoulders. Her conductor's cap was askew and looked like it had been trampled on. He got closer to her, and just as he was about to reach out and touch her shoulder, she turned toward him. A low growl rumbled from his chest at the sight he was met with. "What the hell happened?" he murmured as he reached out and touched her cheek.

**A/N – So I have to share that the "look different with clothes on" thing actually happened to me. When I used to go to the gym in the morning before going to work in the catering department at a hotel. One day a client came in to schedule a meeting. He kept turning around while he was in the catering manager's office. After their meeting he came up to me and said "you look different with your clothes on" – needless to say I had an immediate meeting with the catering manager after he left.**

**So I haven't been receiving any reviews and I'm really saddened by it. Am I not holding your interest? Should I continue?**


	29. Chapter 30

RIDING THE RAILS

CHAPTER 28

**DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!**

**Hello all! Yes it's me and yes here's another update without having to wait more than two weeks! As the riding season is drawing to a close I will have more opportunity to put into words my thoughts. Now, I may not have as much of an inspiration as riding on the back of a Harley gives you but I'll try! My mind has a tendency two conjure up things when I'm being "vibrated" (hee hee)! **

**As usual I truly want to thank Caz, Miss January and Jasper's Destiny for their wonderful assistance in making sure that I don't drive you all crazy with the grammar, rambling on and on and on. Stop it - Della! **

**Anyhow's – here's the latest. Hope that you enjoy! **

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Bella stepped down to the platform and stood off to the side to let the wave of passengers exit the train. She had been advised to wait by the car for a supervisor to come and collect her to give her statement.

As she stood there, a number of passengers came up and expressed their gratitude and pride in her handling of the situation that Billy had called her to assist with. "That was kick ass," she heard one young man say as he walked by and saluted her. "Way to go Swan," another stated in passing. "Miss, you handled yourself exceptionally," an older woman said as she patted Bella's forearm.

_Handled myself exceptionally…_ Bella internally scoffed. She hadn't handled it exceptionally. People had gotten hurt, and she wasn't sure exactly what went wrong and when. She closed her eyes and tipped her head to the side a bit to relieve some of the tension in her neck.

_What in hell had gone wrong? _she asked herself. She was so deep in thought that she barely registered that someone was calling her name until she heard it again and felt a light touch on her shoulder.

"Bella, are you okay?" The smooth, sultry voice that she remembered from yesterday brought her out of her musings, and a small smile pulled at her mouth. She turned to face Edward to ensure him that she was okay, but when she looked up at him her smile fell. In place of the playful grin he'd wore yesterday, and earlier today, his lips were pressed so tightly together they were white. When her gaze met his eyes, she stepped back. Gone was the sparkling green glint of mischievousness and in its place was a green so dark they seemed to blaze with fury.

Edward reached out and ran the back of his fingers along her cheek, stroking the tell-tale signs of a bruise as a wave of anger surged through him. He wanted her to tell him who was responsible for the damage to her lovely skin, demand their names, but he held back. "You're hurt," he eventually breathed out.

"It's nothing, Edward." _Nothing that I haven't experienced before. Plus, I've had worse,_ she thought to herself. Bella watched a swarm of emotions pass over his face as his eyes roamed over her appearance. She noticed the trembling of his fingers as he pulled his hand away and the clenching of his other hand into a fist as he held it next to his side. A sense of being protected fell over her as she realized that this man, a man she hardly knew, was obviously concerned about her well-being.

"Swan," a deep, brusque voice called out. They both turned in the direction of the man that had called her name, and Edward stepped in front of Bella. The large, dark man approaching them put him on edge, and he felt an overwhelming urge to protect her.

"Yes, Laurent?" she answered. She stepped around Edward, looking up at his face in confusion regarding his actions. "It's okay, he's my supervisor," she said as she put a hand on his forearm and proceeded to step toward the man.

"I need you to give a full statement of what happened." Laurent said as he approached, his eyes raking up and down Edward, noticing the way that he was hovering around Bella, almost as if he were going to pounce on anyone who got too close to her. "Oh shit, you're hurt." His fingers lightly gripped her chin and turned her head so he could get a better look at her injuries.

"Head on over to the infirmary for an icepack and then meet me in my office for a debriefing." He then turned to Edward. "Were you a witness to the incident?" Edward shook his head in response. "Well, then, I guess we don't need to ask you to come along." Abruptly dismissing him, Laurent turned back to Bella. "Icepack, then my office in five minutes," he ordered and walked away.

"Arrogant ass," she heard Edward mumble once they were alone again.

"Edward."

"Bella."

They had spoken at the same time.

"You first," she said. She didn't want to appear to be rushing him, but she really wanted to get to the infirmary. Her cheek was starting to throb, and she knew from experience that a shiner was forming.

"I know we just met and don't really know each other, but . . ." He hesitated as he looked down to the ground. After a moment he ran his hand through his hair and raised his eyes to hers. "Would you consider going out for a drink with me tonight?" Edward held his breath, in hopes that she would say yes. He suddenly felt _shy_, a feeling he had never experienced before. There was something about her that made him feel like a teenager with his first crush. He wanted to take her out, but he also wanted to ask her about what had happened earlier in the other car and make sure that she was in fact okay.

"Edward…" Bella pinched the bridge of her nose tightly. The beginning of a headache of epic proportions was starting to make its way to the front of her brain, and she breathed out a small sigh. "I'd really like to join you tonight, but under the circumstances, I don't see that happening." She couldn't help but notice the disappointed look on his face. She knew that she shouldn't cave, but she couldn't take the _hurt_ look on his face. He was only concerned for her welfare and wanted to get to know her.

"Sure. Okay, I get it." He turned to leave. "See you around, then," he called back over his shoulder.

_I shouldn't do this; I'll probably regret it,_ she tried reasoning as her hand, of its own accord, reached out and touched his shoulder to stop him from leaving. "Edward, wait!"

He stilled his progress, took a deep breath, and turned to face her, hope clearly written in his eyes. She took a steadying breath herself. She was about to agree to go out with him, someone she didn't truly know. _It's only a drink, Swan, for God's sake! _But the longer she stood there, the worse her headache seemed to get. "What train do you take home?" she asked.

"I usually catch the four-ten, but I can take an earlier one if needed," he answered, with a bit of hope in his voice.

Bella quickly calculated the time it would take her to get home from her shift, clean up, and then meet him. "No, that's fine. You'll get to Elburn around five-thirty. You know where _The Depot _is, right?"

He nodded his head in answer while biting the inside of his mouth to contain his über-teenaged grin. _I'd meet you on the moon if you asked me to_.

"I'll meet you there around six o'clock," she told him.

His lips curled up in a smile, and he said that he'd be there, giving her arm a light squeeze before turning to walk away. His day was definitely getting better.

However, twenty minutes later, after he walked into his office, things took a turn for the worse. He was advised of a "last minute" meeting that Tanya had called. His assistant literally hissed her name as she gave him the message. _Someone has obviously rubbed Angela the wrong way._

After setting his briefcase in his office, he grabbed the file folder for the latest client he'd been assigned to work with Tanya on and made his way to the conference room.

As he went through the office area, he noticed that there were fewer people around than usual. He had an uneasy feeling but wasn't exactly sure what was causing it. When he reached the room, the door was shut and the blinds were pulled closed. _Hmm…this is weird,_ he thought. He knocked on the door instead of entering, in case there was another meeting being held in there prior to the one he was to attend, and he heard Tanya call for him to come in.

He twisted the door knob and walked in. What he saw when he entered the room stopped him in his tracks and he dropped the folder.

"What the fuck is this all about, Tanya?" he said as he held onto the door for support.

**A/N: So. . . Hmmm . . . . **

**Let me know what you think!? **


	30. Chapter 31

RIDING THE RAILS

CHAPTER 29

**DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!**

**Hi! Waving a white flag – don't shoot me! Sorry I haven't updated. I know how much it irritates me when the stories I'm following don't update on a regular basis. I've been having a hard time this year. Hope that I didn't lose too many of you. **

"What the fuck is this all about, Tanya?" he demanded as he held on to the door for support. The sight before him brought out a strong surge of rage he hadn't felt before. He had tried over the past couple of weeks to avoid this very situation.

Suddenly aware of how the scene would look to a passerby, but still consciously avoiding being alone, he stepped into the doorway, his large frame effectively blocking anyone's view if they walked by. He glared at the woman sitting in the room before turning his gaze away. "What's the meaning of this . . .?" He waved his hand toward her. A sudden noise in the hallway behind him made Edward hesitantly step inside the conference room. Aware of how this situation would look to an outsider, he didn't want to be alone with her, especially like this. As a last resort, he left the door partially open.

"Well, I figured since we're working together, we may as well be comfortable with each other," Tanya answered while playing with the ends of her hair, which was draped over her shoulder. She then uncrossed and re-crossed her legs, which were resting on the table, at the ankles, the scene reminiscent of the Julia Roberts in the movie _Pretty Woman_. The motion made Edward very uncomfortable, causing him to turn his back to her and face the door. He warred with his desire to flee a situation that he didn't want repeated or to confront her.

Making a quick choice to leave, he faced the door and bent to pick up the file folder he had dropped.

"Get dressed, Tanya."

Before he had a chance to fully open the door to exit, she was on him. He had never known anyone to move so fast. Her heavy breasts pressed into his back as her arms circled around his waist. She reached one hand down and stroked his length through his pants, and his traitorous body reacted as a man's would even though there was no desire. It wasn't _her_ breasts he desired to feel against his back, _her_ arms circling him, or_ her_ hand caressing him.

Before things could go any further, he removed her hand from him and then spun her around, wrapping both of her wrists in his large hand as he pushed her against the wall, pinning both of her hands above her head. He made sure to keep a safe distance between their bodies. He looked down into her face, a face that was full of desire and lust, thinking that she had finally broken through and would get what she had wanted all along. . . _Him_.

"Do. Not. Ever. Touch. Me. _Again_," he said, spitting out each word. "What makes you even think that I find you alluring? You are a self-absorbed woman with no soul and no care of how others perceive you." He squeezed her wrists a bit more—not enough to bruise but to get the point across.

"Out of respect for your uncle, I'll give you a pass this one time, Tanya, but only this one time," he said as he leaned his face in a fraction. "But if you ever touch me or approach me in a non-professional manner again, I will…" he tightened his hold again a bit more, "have you up on harassment charges so fast your uncle's head will spin off." Edward could tell by the widening of her eyes that his point was being made clear.

After Edward released her hands, she stood, trembling slightly, and rubbed at her wrists. The harshness of his glare not only scared her but also had an underlying sexual appeal to her. She knew in that moment that she had lost. She had lost the battle but not the war. She would bide her time. Tanya would never give up. What she wanted, she would get.

Edward picked up the folder once again, turned, and called over his shoulder, "Get dressed!" before walking out. Unfortunately, the corridor was not as empty as it had been when he stepped into the conference room. His blood ran cold suddenly, and he hoped that his last words had not been overheard. But as he took in the disgusted look and narrowed gaze of the person in front of him, he knew that he wasn't so lucky.

Edward squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "It's not what you think, Angela," he said, hoping desperately that she believed his words.

He lightly grasped her elbow to usher them away from the door, stopping just as Angela turned the corner into the corridor.

"Oh, I don't doubt that it's _not _what it appeared to be, Edward," came the reply he hoped for.

He was thankful for the sincerity in his assistant's face, and he blew out a much held breath.  
>"I realized that I didn't give you the right folder for the meeting, so I was bringing it to you. I heard the entire exchange," Angela assured him. "I thought something was odd when I walked through the conference area and there was no one around. I couldn't imagine why Tanya would ask for a conference room so far away from the main offices," she said with a huff, "until I heard everything just now."<p>

Edward's head dropped in relief—relief that Angela had obviously arrived early enough to hear what he'd said to Tanya, more than just telling her to get dressed.

Tanya opened the door, and as she adjusted her top, she saw Edward. From where she stood, she could only see _him_. With his head down and eyes closed, she was under the impression that he might have had a change of heart, so she started to call out to him but then heard him speaking to someone else.

"Thank you for believing me, Angela. I swear to you that nothing happened," she overheard him say.

"I believe you, Edward, but I'd really not have to worry about it again" she heard the woman reply. She recognized the voice as belonging to his assistant, a woman that she knew was very protective of her boss. This was a situation that she was not prepared for. Tanya wasn't sure when Angela had arrive at the conference room, nor what she had heard. As Tanya took in the bit of conversation between Edward and his assistant, she came to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, there was the possibility of a relationship between the two. She would have to watch their interactions closer to confirm it. Then she would work on breaking them apart and making her way into his life.

She would have to tread carefully and find out. The assistant could be a deterrent to her goal—her goal being one Edward Masen.

**A/N : Hmmm so wonder what Tanya has in mind. **


	31. Chapter 32

RIDING THE RAILS

CHAPTER 30

Hello, all! I hope that with the delay of the postings not too many passengers got off early. This story will continue. I may even have MORE time to write, as my husband is having surgery this month and I'll have to take vacation time to stay home with him

Thanks to Caz for being my pre-reader and my wonderful, patient beta's Miss January and Jasper's Destiny! .

**SM owns Twilight and characters – I'm only taking them for a ride.**

Previous paragraph clarification: at the end of the previous chapter, where Angela and Edward are in the corridor, Angela is out of view just around the corridor. She can be heard by Tanya but not seen by her.

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Bella had been waiting in Laurent's office for fifteen minutes with an ice pack on her face; she wished she had thought to grab a second Reddy Ice, since the first one was warming up quickly. As she waited, she thought about Edward's reaction to her injury. What had it meant? He had looked at her like he was the one responsible for her injury.

She was in the midst of thinking about his invitation to a drink when the door suddenly burst open and a tall dark frame took up the doorway.

"Well, why I am not surprised that you're responsible for his injuries, bitch!" Jake bellowed as he stormed into the office. "Where the hell were you?" he demanded as he stood over her, fury blazing from his eyes. She was stunned at the abruptness of his actions. Did he really think that she had wanted Billy to be injured intentionally? Jacob grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her out of the chair. "Answer me, bitch!" he yelled, so close to her she could feel his hot breath fanning her face. He pulled a hand back, prepared to slap her.

Bella closed her eyes and prepared herself for the sharp sting across her face that never came. She opened her eyes and saw that he was no longer in front of her; instead she watched his body being slammed up against the opposite wall. Laurent's thick forearm pressed into his neck.

"Touch her again, Black, and I will not only fire your ass, I'll make sure she presses charges against you for assault!" Laurent snarled in Jacob's face.

"Well, where was the dumb bitch when my father was being attacked? Why isn't she being fired or reprimanded for not being where she was needed!" Jacob turned his hardened glare on Bella again. "Were you fucking around with someone instead of making your rounds?"

At the mention of fucking around with someone, she immediately thought of Edward. Was he a distraction that kept her from being where she should have been?

"Bella, don't say anything," Laurent said as he looked over his shoulder at her. His forearm was still firmly pressed into Jacob's neck. "Now, listen here, asshole! I don't give a shit what you think. Your father is a seasoned conductor. He called Bella as soon as he realized there was a problem, and she made her way to him as quickly as possible according to eye-witnesses. So back the fuck off! Now," Laurent said as he stepped back and allowed Jacob some breathing room, "I insist that you leave so I can question Bella about what happened."

"No fucking way am I leaving!" Jacob said through gritted teeth.

"There is _no way_ you are staying here," Laurent snapped back. "You weren't involved in the incident."

"It's okay, Laurent," Bella interrupted. Both men turned toward her, Laurent with an incredulous look on his face and Jacob with his usual glare. "Jake," she said, then added with a whisper, "_ass,"_ which garnered another glare, "can stay. I have nothing to hide." She glared right back at him, chin raised, showing her confidence.

"Fine, then." Laurent switched on a recorder that was sitting on his desk. "This is the statement of Conductor Isabella Swan in the matter of the incident involving Conductor William Black."

After relaying the longest thirty minutes of her life, from the time that she received the call from Billy to when the train pulled into the station and he was transferred to an ambulance, Bella sagged back into her chair.

"So, you said you were there as quick as possible but could have been there quicker. Why's that?" Jacob asked. Bella wasn't surprised that he had picked up on that part of her statement. Because she had been preoccupied with Edward, she wasn't at her usual car further up, checking tickets, which would have been closer to his father.

"I was talking with someone."

"Someone who?" he demanded.

"No one you need to concern yourself with," she replied tersely.

"Oh. Was it a man?" Jacob pressed. "Were you _busy_ with this man that you were talking to? Maybe in one of the empty cars?" He continued to throw accusations at her, his voice rising with each word.

"Stop it!" Bella snapped. "I was talking to a new passenger. I wanted to make sure Edward knew to take his pass with him, along with a few other things."

"Edward? Who the fuck is _Edward_? What happened to Jasper, or that Mike Newton guy that's always hound-dogging you?"

Laurent stood by, speechless. He knew he should kick Jacob out of the office, but he was frozen to the spot, too shocked to do anything.

Bella could do nothing more than stare at Jacob. She couldn't believe the nonsense coming out of his mouth. Why the hell would he care about the men in her life? She curled her hands into fists at her hips. "What the hell do you mean _hound-dogging_ me? Are you _spying_ on me?" Her voice raised a few decibels.

"Spying on you? No! But I do hear things like how you were quick to pick up with your _so called friend_ Jasper after we broke it off," he spat back at her. "But it appears that you've got a few more on the side as well. What's the matter, need more than one man to satisfy you since I'm not around?"

"Fuck you, Jake!" she screamed. "You're one to talk about needing multiple partners when you've got the two skanks I caught you with!"

"Oh, babe, you don't know the half of it." His lips curled up into a devious smile. "I've got another little angel I've added to our group. Bree. She is _sweet_!" He kissed his fingers against his pursed lips.

"A third, eh? Do you have them on rotation, because you certainly can't do _that_ much in one night!"

"Bitch, I do more in one night with those three than I ever did with your mutilated body!" he said as he stood up.

A very loud gasp escaped Bella at the insult. Her lower lip trembled and her eyes misted over. This man, who at one time said he loved her, was throwing the worst of her situation in her face—and in front of her boss, who knew nothing about that part of her past!

"Jacob!" Laurent barked as he came out of the daze he was under. "That's enough right there. I'm asking you to leave before things get any more out of hand than they already are."

Jacob sneered at Bella and turned his head to tell Laurent he wasn't going anywhere, but that, it turned out, was the wrong thing to do. Before he knew what was happening, Bella kicked him in the balls. As Jacob bent over in pain, Bella used the momentum of him bending over to deliver a blinding punch to his jaw, which caused him to fall back on his ass.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about me or _to_ me ever again, Jacob Black!" she screamed in his face as she hovered over him breathing heavily.

"Bella…" Laurent warned as he put his hands on her shoulder and tugged her away from the man on the floor cupping his crotch. "I think it would be a good idea if you left. We can finish this up tomorrow." He wasn't exactly sure what their previous situation had been, but he was pretty sure he didn't trust Black not to hurt her when he could move. He had been cruel enough with his words.

Bella was shaking with fury. She had never been so enraged. Her vision was filled with red—red like the blood she had shed when attacked. She had told Jacob some things about her attack, but a lot of the details she had left out. The scars, though, were not something that could be brushed over. She pulled away and turned to look at Laurent, shocked by the expression of pity he wore.

"I…I'm so sorry," Bella said in a rush before running out of the office. People jumped out of her way as she pushed past them. She quickly glanced at her watch and noted that she had at least thirty minutes before the next train back to Elburn departed.

Dashing into the locker room, she quickly stripped out of her uniform and changed into some street clothes that she kept there in the event she went out after work. She still had twenty minutes before she had to board the train—enough time to stop at _The Newsstand_, a bar on the main level, to get a drink. Bella strode in a few moments later, and though it was still morning, the usual crowd was there, as the bar served a light breakfast that commuters could pick up on the run.

"Marcus," she called out, "I need a double cherry vodka and club soda to go, please, and quick!"

Marcus glanced toward the entrance and then at the clock on the wall, which indicated that it was indeed still morning. "A little early in the day, isn't it, Swan?"

Not to be delayed for her ride home—or the liquid courage she was in need of—she spoke up. "Please, Marcus. I'm in a hurry." Her demand came across as the plea she'd hoped to conceal.

As a seasoned bartender, Marcus picked up on the desperation in Bella's voice and immediately approached her.

"What's wrong, hon?" he asked while preparing her drink.

"Ugh." She laid her head on the bar top. "I can't talk about it now, but I'd be surprised if you see me around after this week. I may have gotten my ass fired."

"Fired?" Marcus yelped. "Honey, there is no way that Metra would even consider firing your fine ass. You not only make them look good by being the best and only female conductor around, but you _look good_, which is a plus for them."

"Look," he said, "you've only got a few minutes before boarding. Take the drink, relax, and we'll talk after your next shift. Okay?" He handed her a Styrofoam cup full of ice and the goodness she'd requested.

Bella raised her head and looked at the person that she considered to be one of her best friends. His eyes were full of sincerity. He truly meant everything that he said.

"Thanks, Marcus." She threw down a ten dollar bill, grabbed her drink, and quickly reached over the bar to give him a quick peck. "You're a great friend." She stepped away and made her way to the 10:40am train that would take her back to Elburn. It would still be early when she arrived home, giving her plenty of time to worry about what she'd do if she had, in fact, lost her job as well as get ready for her date with Edward.

**A/N: For those that are still following this story, I **_**promise**_** to pick it back up. There's been things going on in RL that have delayed my ambition, but I never quit! **

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	32. Chapter 33

RIDING THE RAILS

CHAPTER 31

**Yes! I have arisen from the ashes! Sorry to have been so long in posting. Things in life get out of hand. **

**Thanks again to my pre-reader Caz, and my BETA's Ms. January and Jasper's Destiny. They have been very patient with me on my first endeavor. **

**As usual - ****DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!**

As Bella approached Track 3 to board the train home, she held the styrofoam cup in her hand like it was a sacred chalice. While Metra doesn't forbid alcoholic beverages to be brought on board, it would not bode well for her, as an employee, to be caught with one even though she was off duty. Instead of boarding the first car, she continued down the gangway toward one of the designated "quiet" cars. She had a lot to think about and didn't want any interruptions.

Just as she was about to board, she heard her name being called out. _Damn,_ she thought. She didn't want to chance getting caught with a drink, and she really didn't want to answer any questions about this morning. Turning toward the man approaching her, she felt a bit of the tension gripping her body ease at the sight of a friendly face. "Hi, Garrett!" she greeted the lanky, blonde haired man. Garrett was one of the first men on the crew who'd ever treated her with respect. No feminist jokes were ever uttered by him. As a matter of fact, he was the one responsible for the decline of said jokes.

"Bella, I heard about this morning. Are you okay?" he asked as he stopped in front of her. News of a conductor being injured while on duty travels fast through the network. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for thugs and delinquents to hop on one rail-line into the city then switch over to another after causing havoc.

Garrett was extremely relieved that what happened earlier in the day was just a random group of teens acting out. Not long ago there were incidences of two men harassing women on the train then attacking them after following them off at various stations. None of the victims recovered to provide a description of their attackers. He, and quite a few other people, would have been upset had Bella been injured or attacked today. .

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks.". She moved her drink to her left hand and swept back a few strands of hair with her right. . The movement caught Garrett's eye, which caused him to spot some fresh bruising on her knuckles.

He reached out and took her hand lightly in his. "Is this from this morning?" He paused and looked her in the eye. "I heard you kicked ass."

Bella looked down, avoiding his eyes, and retracted her hand from his soft grip. "No," she answered softly. "This happened later." She didn't want to go into further detail but had a feeling that she wouldn't get out of an explanation.

"Later, as in when?" he pushed.

She let out a long sigh, knowing that there was no way she would be able to put this off. "In Laurent's office," she murmured.

"Laurent's office…?" He trailed off. "Son of a _bitch_!" Bella jumped back at his exclamation. "Motherfucker!" Garrett ranted as he paced up and down the platform next to her. "I _knew_ I shouldn't have told that son of a bitch," she heard him mutter. "Bastard was just too fucking sneaky, acting all concerned about her and all." He continued to mumble to himself. Finally he stopped pacing, took a deep breath, and turned to face her.

Bella had just taken a deep drink from her cup when he stopped in front of her. Her eyes were closed in obvious enjoyment of the beverage. He folded his arms across his chest, raised an eyebrow, and casually asked, "So what'cha drinking there, Swan?"

Bella snapped her eyes open and spluttered. _Oh shit_, she thought. _Think fast, B._ "Um, it's a Coke_,_" she replied as casually as her pounding heart allowed. .

He was close enough to her that on her exhale he could tell that it wasn't a simple soda she held. Raising an eyebrow, he replied, "A Coke, you say?"

She took another small sip through the straw. "Yeah. It's a Cherry Coke_._"

"Well, at least you're not on an express train going home. That should give you enough time to finish the drink, uh, Coke before you get to your stop." Given the condition that she was in and the obvious tension she was under, he didn't want to press Metra's rules, but he was also letting her know that he knew it wasn't a plain soda she was drinking and that she had plenty of time to finish it and be capable of driving when the train arrived at her destination.

"Yeah," she gulped.

"Bella, I'm sorry," he said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm responsible for that jackass finding you. And obviously the injury to your hand was a result of him locating you. Again, my fault."

"Garrett, it's okay. I'm a big girl. It's nothing that I couldn't handle." She felt bad about him experiencing guilt that wasn't truly his.

"I know you can take care of yourself, Bella, but that bastard has pissed me off for the last time. Jake said that he was contacted by the hospital since he's Billy's son.. He told me that Billy hadn't heard about what happened to you and sent Jake to find out. Obviously that wasn't the case," he finished as he glanced down at her bruised knuckles. "How bad did you kick his ass?" he asked with a low chuckle.

Before she had a chance to respond, Garrett received a message through his earpiece that it was time to start boarding. He looked at his watch then down the platform and raised his hand, signaling he had received the message.

"You going into the quiet car_,_ Bella?" She nodded "I'll come find you in a bit. I'd like to hear about what happened in Laurent's office, if you don't mind telling me."

"No problem, Garrett. I'll see you in a bit," she said as she turned and climbed up the steps into the train.

As she settled in one of the upper level seats, she leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and thought back over her time with Jacob. When she and Jacob had been together, she had always sensed an underlying anger in him but never realized how angry and dangerous he could be.

"Maybe I'm a magnet for trouble," she mumbled. Glancing around to ensure she was alone in the car, she then shut her eyes and continued her soliloquy.

"You're an idiot, Bella. How, after all the time you spent with Royce, could you not have recognized the similar traits in Jacob? Sure, he was sweet and adoring and he pampered you—at first. But how long did that last, huh? Remember when he started to change? He started coming home later than usual after his shift, remember? Oh sure, it wasn't every night, but frequent enough.

"Oh, and remember that time he smelled of perfume that you knew wasn't your brand and definitely wasn't his cologne? You just chose to ignore the fact that he could have possibly been fucking around on you. Admit it! Your pride would have gotten hurt if you had confronted him right then and he admitted to it. But no, that didn't happen. Instead, you walked in on him and his two whores in bed together. That was a real treat, wasn't it? But at least it got you to open your eyes and get the fuck out of there."

Sensing she was being watched, Bella opened her eyes and looked around, finding the source of her discomfort. Cold, blue-grey eyes that belonged to one of Jake's whores stared at her from a seat in the lower section. Lauren Mallory.

Lauren's lips curled into a wicked sneer. She ran her tongue over the ridge of her upper teeth and then raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, well," She said with a bit of a snarl. "What have we here?"

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_Meanwhile, back at the office…_

"I believe you, Edward, but I really hope I don't walk in on something like that again," Angela said to Edward as she reached over and squeezed his forearm. She loved her boss more than any other man she'd worked for. When she first met Edward, she was astounded by his good looks. But what finally drew her feelings out for him was his kind nature. He had, in a sense, rescued her, and she would always love him in the same way she loved her brother.

"Thank you, Angela," Edward said as he wrapped his long arms around her for a much-needed hug. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"Well, let's make sure you never find out, then!" She hugged him then took a step back. "Now, let's get back to your office and check on the rest of your appointments."

As they turned to do just that, Edward placed his arm around Angela's shoulders and quickly kissed the top of her head.

Angela had the distinct feeling that they were being watched, and she looked over her shoulder to see Tanya staring at them with an evil glint in her eyes.

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**A/N Sorry that this has been so long in updating. I thought I would have had more time to write while the hubs was recuperating from surgery, but that didn't happen. Then with the weather, I was a bit down. I really don't like winter. I like to walk outside, and that just wasn't happening. I write better when I walk because I can concentrate on something other than moving my feet. Hopefully now that spring is here, I will get more time. Plus there's a cemetery behind my house that's peaceful to walk through. Who knows, maybe I'll find some new characters there! **


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